Before I Die
by Trigzl
Summary: Soul is acting funny and Maka can't figure out why. He's refusing to accept missions and won't leave her side except for bathroom breaks. Something's up, but Soul won't tell what he'd hiding until Maka finds out the hard way. Slight fluff. SoulxMaka. Rated T to be safe.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: This is my first FanFic. Hope you guys like it! This started out as a quick project then I started writing it... And it's going to be a couple of chapters now. I will hopefully update soon.  
This is all based off the anime, I haven't read the manga yet, but I'm planning on reading it eventually. I love this show and its characters! I'm trying to keep the characters, well, 'In-character' so tell me how I'm doing.  
Please review.**

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Soul Eater or any of its characters.**

* * *

"Maka?"

"Hm?" Maka hummed, acknowledging she was listening even though she didn't look up from her book.

A few minutes passed in comfortable silence until Maka realized that he never answered. "Soul, is something wrong?" She marked her page and closed the book in her lap. Looking up, the first thing she noticed was that he was now standing directly in front of her instead of where he was a second ago in the doorway. Second, he was _really _close, his legs brushing against her knees from where she sat on the couch. "Um, Soul-"

Soul bent forward and placed his hands on her thighs then pressed his forehead against hers. Stunned, Maka didn't pull away, "What are you doing?"

He stayed silent and closed his eyes, breathing in deeply through his nose and exhaling slowly through his mouth. His hot breath blew upon her face and caused a shiver to go down her spine. The smell of mint filled her nostrils.

"Nothing." he breathed as he pushed himself upright and walked out of the room. Maka heard shuffling then the bathroom door close. A few seconds later the shower started running.

She didn't move from where she was sitting on the couch, her brows furrowed with concern. What was going on with Soul lately? He hadn't completely been himself this whole week. Pushing her worries to the back of her mind she went back to reading. _He'll tell me when he's ready to talk._

* * *

"Soul! Dinner's ready!" Maka called over the sound of the microwave fan running. A pot of noodles sat on the stove while she took out some bowls from the cabinets. Usually Soul would already be at the table ready to devour his food, but he hadn't come out of his room since his shower.

"Soul! Come eat before it gets cold!" Maka prepared two bowls of ramen and poured their drinks. After realizing that he wasn't going to come out she sighed. Leaving her food on the counter, she walked over to Soul's closed door. "Hey Soul…" She knocked gently on the wood, "Can I come in?"

No response.

Maka turned the knob and cautiously opened the door, peering around it into the dimly lit room. Soul was sitting on the floor leaning against the side of his bed, headphones around his neck like it was a second thought. He glanced up at her, a painful expression in his crimson eyes before it quickly disappeared and was replaced with his normal bored look. But Maka had seen the flicker of his true emotions, the ones he hid so well behind his 'cool' façade. "'Sup?" He started to stand, rearranging his jacket so he could stuff his hands in its pockets.

"I brought you your dinner," Maka held out the bowl of noodles, tilting her head to the side a bit, silently questioning him.

"What?" he scowled, taking the steaming bowl and retreating back to his bed, slumping back down to the floor.

"What do you mean 'What?" Maka barked, "You're the one that's been acting funny all week!"

Soul swirled his spoon around in the broth, gently blowing on the scalding liquid, "Sorry, I just can't help being so hilarious." he grinned, but it didn't reach his eyes.

Maka's expression softened, though she was still irritated, "Is something wrong?" She went over and slid down beside him.

"Yea, your underdeveloped chest," he teased.

Maka ignored the frequent insult, "Look, you can talk to me, okay? I'm here to listen to whatever you've got going on. Just remember that."

"Mkay," he slurped on a mouthful of noodles, spilling broth down his chin.

"Ugh, you are such a slob," Maka stood up, "Let me get you some napkins." She left the room then returned a moment later balancing a roll of paper towels, two glasses of milk, and her bowl of ramen. After handing the paper towels to Soul, she returned to her spot beside him on the floor, absently eating her food.

"When's that project due?" Soul broke the silence.

"The one for Professor Stein's class? Um, next Thursday. Have you started on it yet? It counts as twenty-five percent of your grade, so I wouldn't screw it up."

"Eh. I'll get it done. What's today? Saturday? I have time." He noisily slurped down the rest of the broth and gulped down his milk in one swig.

Maka sighed knowing he would still wait until the last minute then stay up all night finishing it.

Soul set his dishes aside and leaned back against the mattress, his hands behind his head. He closed his eyes, humming quietly to himself.

Once Maka was finished with her food she gathered up both their dirty dishes and wandered into the kitchen.

Soul lazily opened one eye as she left the room, watching her long legs stride into the hallway. He listened to her washing the dishes in the sink, singing a familiar tune off the radio. The clattering of glasses bumping each other as she set them in the drying rack signaled that her task was complete. Soft footsteps on the carpet shuffled into the bathroom and the door closed. Soon the sound of water running reached his ears along with the faint lyrics of his meister singing in the shower. She claimed she was a terrible singer and would never sing in public, but he got the privilege of hearing her melodic voice every once in a while. No, she definitely wasn't the best at singing, but she wasn't bad either.

The bathroom door opened about ten minutes later, and Maka headed into the living room with a towel around her shoulders, finger-combing through her damp hair. Soul pushed himself off the ground and followed her into the living room. He found her curled up in the corner of the couch wearing a tank top and pajama shorts; book in hand with her nose stuck in it. He went and plopped down beside her, his shoulder touching her bare arm and his knee pressed against hers.

Maka stole a glance at him from the corner of her eye, but he was looking ahead, oblivious to her gaze. She went back to reading and Soul didn't speak, he just sat there occasionally reading along with her then getting bored and staring into space again.

Soul shifted his position so his arms were spread out along the back of the couch, one behind Maka's head. She didn't look up; not until he started absently twisting strands of her ashy blonde hair around his fingers.

Maka sighed and was about to comment when she thought better of it and continued reading. Half and hour passed and she started to grow drowsy, fighting to keep her eyes open. Soul had already dozed off beside her and was snoring softly. She ended up reading the same line about fifteen times before she could comprehend that fact that she couldn't stay awake any longer.

Her grip on the book loosened as Maka let it fall to her lap, losing her page. Her head leaned to her left until it met with Soul's shoulder. The smell of his deodorant was the last thing she remembered before falling into a peaceful sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Thanks for all the reviews and favorites/ follows! They brightened my day and got me excited for the next chapter! Hopefully I won't disappoint anyone. ** **Please review with ideas, feelings, and/or constructive criticism. **

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Soul Eater or its characters. **

* * *

Maka awoke to harsh rays of sunlight beaming in through her window. She groaned and pulled the covers over her head, trying to block the light and go back to sleep. A few minutes passed before she groggily remembered that her alarm should have gone off, even though it was Sunday. She flipped around on her side and stared at the digital clock beside her bed. 11:32am. At the sight of the late hour she sat up and swung her legs over the edge of the bed. Maka never slept past 8, even on weekends, it was a waste of valuable time.

It was a cool spring morning and out of the warmth of her bed comforters, her bare legs and arms had goosebumps. Maka pulled on some sweat pants over her shorts and grabbed her light blue hoodie off the floor. Walking to the bathroom she stopped when she heard shuffling in the kitchen.

"Soul...?" Maka leaned around the corner, pulling the jacket over her tank top.

"Good morning sleepy-head," Soul grinned up at her, idly poking at a skillet of scrambled eggs with a spatula.

Maka looked at him blankly, "Are you cooking breakfast?"

"Uh, yea. I thought you were smart," he tapped his head, "because that was kind of a dumb question."

She glared at him before going over to stand in front the stove, "Mhm, and you should start paying more attention," Maka pointed to the skillet, "because bacon is not supposed to look like that."

"Aw, shit," Soul cursed, attending to the burning meat.

Maka sighed and proceeded to take over his failed attempts at cooking food.

Once the bacon was salvaged and the eggs were deemed as edible, the two sat down at the kitchen table. Soul hungrily ate his eggs and bacon then washed it all down with a glass of milk. He eyed Maka's plate as soon as his was empty.

Maka ate a mouthful of eggs then swallowed. Reaching for the salt and pepper she asked, "So what's up with the sudden interest in the cullinary arts?"

Soul leaned back in his chair and locked his hands behind his head, "Just thought I'd do something nice for my meister," he shrugged.

"That's a first," Maka mumbled while dousing her eggs in salt.

Neither of them spoke for a while, each lost in their own thoughts. Maka picked at the charred food for a bit, eating what she could.

Soul sat forward and leaned his arms on the table, looking over at Maka, "Are you doing anything today?"

"I need to run out in a bit and pick up groceries, then I thought about going to the bookstore and buying the next novel in the series I'm reading," she stood up and took her dishes over to the sink, "Why are you asking?"

Soul brought his own dishes over to the counter and stood beside her, "I was wondering if you wanted to go see a movie or something."

Maka took his plate and started washing it in the soapy water, "Sure, sounds fun! What's showing?"

"Oh, um. Well, I think there was that one movie coming out..." he trailed off, rubbing a hand behind his neck.

Maka dried the plates off and turned to Soul with a hand on her hip, eye brow raised, "You should have planned something out before asking." she smirked.

"Truthfully I wasn't expecting to get past the asking part," he replied grinning.

Maka laughed and threw the towel she was holding at his face, "And why would that be? Did you think I don't want to hang out with you?"

Soul bent over and grabbed the hand towel off the ground from where it landed after colliding with his face. He stepped forward and placed it on the counter, then turned to Maka. His arms wrapped around her small frame and pulled her to his chest. Soul rested his head on Maka's shoulder, breathing in the smell of her strawberry scented hair. He closed his eyes, "No, I was just afraid that you would be busy."

Soul just held her like that for a moment, savoring each precious second. Maka relaxed in his grip and wrapped her own arms around his body, hugging him tightly. "How about we go see that new action movie that just came out, the one with the Russian spy." she suggested, still locked in his embrace.

Soul smiled, "Sure, sounds like a plan." he sighed and pulled away, his fingers lingering on her arms before falling to his side.

Maka searched his eyes, looking for any hint of his real emotions, but he was too good at concealing them. She quickly smiled, hiding her discomfort, and turned away to wipe off the counter top. Soul shuffled off to the bathroom and shut the door quietly.

After cleaning up the kitchen, Maka headed to her room, passing Soul's closed door. She changed out of her pajamas and into a black t-shirt and a red plaid skirt. Pulling on her combat boots, Maka hobbled into the bathroom. Green eyes stared back at her from the reflective surface of the mirror while she brushed through the tangled mess atop her head. Her fingers parted the ashy blonde hair that hung to her shoulders, expertly pulling it into two low pigtails.

Satisfied with her appearance, Maka strode out into the hallway and into the kitchen, "Soul, I'm headed out!" she found the grocery list stuck to the fridge by a magnet and pulled it off. Soul came into the room, dressed in red pants and a yellow and black jacket. A tan headband kept his wild white hair from hanging in his face.

Maka looked at him, "Are you coming shopping with me?"

He shrugged, "Yea, why not. I'll give you a ride. It'll help you get done faster since you're so slow." Soul sneered teasingly, producing a set of keys from his pocket and swirling them around his finger.

"Ugh, whatever," Maka grumbled, secretly relived that Soul had offered her a ride.

"Then let's go," Soul unlocked the apartment door and slipped out. Maka followed close behind, re-locking the door behind her.

* * *

"Can you go to the dairy isle and get a carton of eggs and some butter?" Maka read the list off to Soul, "Actually, scratch that, I don't trust you with eggs. Go get cereal, bread, and two cans of mushroom soup." she glanced up at him, "Think you can handle all that?"

"Yea, yea. Bread, cereal, and soup. Gotcha," he muttered,walking off towards the dairy section. Maka sighed "Other way, Soul."

He stopped abruptly then turned on his heel and went the other direction, his back hunched in unadmittable embarrassment.

Maka finished up the list and met with Soul at the check-out lines. He handed her the items. "You're supposed to get _whole wheat_, not _multi-grain_!" Maka huffed at the label on the bread bag.

Soul gave her an annoyed expression, "Maybe if you were a bit more specific!"

"You see the bread I buy every single day don't you?" Maka argued, "It wouldn't hurt to take a look at what you're eating!"

"Look, I'll go change it out," Soul snatched the bread from her hand, "No need to get all bitchy about it."

Maka crossed her arms over her chest, boring a hole into Soul's back as he walked off down the isle. He returned a moment later, handing her the _whole wheat_ package this time. Maka sighed, relaxing her expression into something more pleasant, "Thanks."

Soul shrugged in response, leaning against the check-out counter.

"That'll be thirty-five fifty," the young teen behind the cash-register smiled once they rung up all their groceries.

Maka pulled out her wallet and flipped it open, "Dammit, I left my debit-card at home. Soul, do you have yours on you? I need this cash for my book."

"Uhuh," Soul retrieved his wallet from his back pocket and pulled out a plastic card, "Here you go." he handed it to Maka.

They finished paying and left the store, heading over to Soul's orange motorcycle parked in front. Storing the bags of food in the small compartment inside the seat, Soul swung his leg over the bike and started the engine. Maka hopped on behind him, wrapping her arms tightly around his waist. Soul flipped up the kick-stand and sped off down the road. They stopped at their apartment and Maka ran the groceries in before continuing on to the bookstore.

Soul parked his motorcycle outside on the sidewalk and followed Maka into the small building. Maka immediately headed off down one of the isles, already sure of what she was looking for. Soul trailed behind, scanning book titles and lazily looking at the covers.

"Here it is," Maka chimed, grabbing a paperback off the shelf. Soul peered at the book in her hands. On the cover was a door with police tape stretched across it, the title was in black letter outlined in white, _Secrets Behind Locked Doors. _

"What's it about?" Soul inquired, a hint of actual curiosity in his voice.

Maka smirked, "I thought you hated books. Why so interested now?"

He shrugged.

"It's a mystery novel. A series of murders have been committed and even though they are all different, the police think they are connected somehow," Maka headed over to the register, book in hand.

"Hm. Sounds cool," Soul shrugged again, accompanying her to the counter.

Maka laughed, "Wow, Soul Eater Evans expressing an interest in reading? It must be the end of the world."

Soul just smiled sadly.

Once Maka checked-out, the two headed back out into the warm spring afternoon. Maka stretched her arms above her head, letting the cool breeze ruffle her hair.

Soul leaned against a brick pillar, his eyes on Maka, "Where to now?"

She was about to respond when her stomach growled loudly. Blushing, Maka replied sheepishly, "Somewhere to eat. I'm starving!"

Soul grinned, "I second that motion." he climbed onto his motorcycle and waited for Maka to get on and get situated. "Where do you want to eat, tiny-tits?"

Maka chopped him over the head with her new book, bruising his skull.

"Ow! Okay; sorry. I'll stop," Soul grimaced, rubbing his head.

"Head to that little cafe by the library. I heard they have good food," Maka wrapped her thin arms around Soul's waist, leaning onto his back as the motorcycle roared to life.

"Whatever you say...tiny-tits."


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Sorry for the wait guys, I wanted to get this up sooner, but life got in the way. Since I had school in the morning I couldn't stay up until 1:00 again, like the past few nights, preparing the next chapter.  
I ended up writing part of the ending before I got around to this chapter. Hopefully it will help now that I have more of an idea where this story is headed. **

**** If you see any * then that's just where I threw in a footnote at the bottom, it doesn't necessarily pertain to the story so you can skip them if you want. I just had thoughts while writing this and wanted to share.  
Enjoy! Please review!  
Disclaimer: I do NOT own Soul Eater or it's characters.**

* * *

Maka laughed, throwing her head back and covering her mouth with her hand.

Soul sat across from her, holding his stomach while uncontrollable shudders of laughter shook his body, his eyes watering.

"I remember that!" Maka giggled between fits of laughter, tears running down her cheeks, "Then BlackStar fell off the bridge and landed in the river!" She nearly fell out of her chair laughing.

After a few more minutes of giggling uncontrollably, they both took deep breaths, trying to intake enough oxygen to breathe normally. Other customers in the café gave them weird looks and the waitress rolled her eyes as she passed by their table.

Once Maka got her laughter down to a minimum, she risked a glance at Soul, but seeing his goofy grin brought on another burst of giggles.

Soul smiled at the sight, admiring the way Maka's eyes sparkled when she laughed. He shook his head, still grinning from ear to ear, and picked at the apple pie that sat in front of him.

Maka finally got a hold of herself and looked at Soul with a huge smile, "Ah, that was good." She rubbed her sore ab-muscles, "I haven't laughed that much in a while."

Soul pointed at her with his fork, "It's because you're too up-tight all the time," he smirked, half-joking.

Maka scoffed, "We'll if I didn't have to look after such an immature boy, then maybe I wouldn't have to be." She grinned back, adding a heavy sarcastic tone to her voice.

"I hope you're talking about BlackStar," Soul narrowed his eyes, "Because I have _so_ much against you. Don't even start with me," he teased.

"Ha, like what shark-face?" Maka leaned against the table and propped her chin on her fist, giving Soul a challenging look. Even though the two had serious expressions, their eyes betrayed them by sparkling with laughter.

"Oh ho ho," Soul sat up straighter, folding his arms on the table, "Bringing back that one huh?"

Maka smirked, "It never left." She eyed his half-eaten pie, "Are you going to eat that?"

Soul glanced down, "Oh, uh no." he pushed the plate towards her.

She hungrily finished it in three bites. Licking the fork clean, Maka smiled at Soul, "Thanks for buying me lunch."

Soul shrugged, "No problem. You're always cooking so much, its time you had a break." he waved the waitress over and asked for the bill.

"It's 3:32," Soul said looking at his phone, "We should head over to the theatre and catch a four o'clock showing." He stood up and pushed in his chair after laying a couple of 1's on the table.

Maka nodded and stood up, brushing crumbs off her shirt.

Soul went first, holding the door for her as they headed out onto the sidewalk.

"The movie theatre is just down the street," Maka pointed down a few stores, "So we can just walk there." She started down the sidewalk, skipping happily on the concrete.

Soul leisurely followed behind, smiling at her happy gait. He was glad she was having fun.

"Soul, come on!" Maka called over her shoulder, stopping mid-stride to look at him.

"We're already early, there's no rush," Soul caught up to her.

"I know," She blushed sheepishly, "Sorry."

Soul shook his head smiling, "I'm not mad. I just want to walk slower, if that's cool with you."

Maka slowed her pace to match his, "Sure." She gazed up at the sky as she walked, using a hand to block her eyes from the sun, "It's such a nice day!"

Soul squinted at the clouds floating lazily overhead, the sun laughing at some invisible joke, "Yea, it is."

The two arrived at the movie theatre after a couple of minutes. Maka pulled open the doors and skipped inside.

Reaching the ticket counter, Soul pulled out his wallet. "Um, two for..." He looked back at Maka, "_Incognito_?"

She happily nodded, her hands clasped behind her back, distracted by some of the movie posters.

The cashier rung them up and handed Soul the ticket stubs. "It's on your right. Theatre 3."

Maka spun around at the sound of the familiar voice, "Oh, hey Hiro!" she smiled at the cashier, "I didn't know you worked here."

Hiro looked down at the counter, his blonde hair falling to obscure his eyes, "Yea, I had to get a job to pay for my apartment." He nervously twirled one of his earrings.

"That's cool," Maka smiled cheerfully, "How do you like it here?" She asked politely.

"Oh it's alright," Hiro shrugged, "Pays well, I guess. I only work weekends so it's not as much as I'd like, but I manage."

Soul impatiently tapped his foot, eyeing Maka. She gave him a look then turned back to Hiro, "Well, we'd better go watch the movie. See you at school tomorrow!"

"See ya."

Maka grabbed Soul's hand and dragged him along past the entrance.

"Who was that guy?" Soul asked, his hand still in the clutches of Maka's grasp.

"His name is Hiro. He's in our first period class," She responded, heading off towards theatre 3 with Soul in tow.

"Then how come I've never seen him before?" Soul hurried forward to open the door for Maka.

"Oh- thanks!" She strolled down the isle between the seats, stopping at one of the middle rows, "Because you're always asleep first period." she rolled her eyes.

"It's not my fault school has to start so damn early," Soul plopped down in a seat, leaning back and propping his feet on the one in front of him.

Maka sat down next to him, pulling down her skirt, "Eight is not _that_ early, Soul."

"It is when you stay up until twelve," Soul argued.

"Then stop staying up so late!" Maka snapped at him, "You've realized the problem, so fix it!"

Soul closed his eyes in annoyance, "God, shut up Maka. You sound like my mom."

Maka didn't know how to respond so she just kept quiet, looking ahead at the screen as it flipped through ads for local businesses.

Soul opened one eye and glanced at her, "Hey, I'm just joking with you." he playfully punched her arm.

"Hm?" Maka turned to Soul, coming out of a deep thought. "Oh, yea I know!" She smiled at him.

Soul became serious, "You know I'm always just teasing you right? I don't mean most of what I say."

Maka's smile faded, "I know. I'm always joking too."

He looked at her for a moment, then he grinned, "Except when you're hitting me with a book."

Maka laughed, "Because you deserve it!"

"But it's not my fault you never hit puberty!" Soul ducked down in his seat, hands protectively

over his head, knowing full well what he just asked for.

A book came down hard on his skull.

"Dammit, Maka. You're going to give me brain damage one day," Soul rubbed the top of his head, grinning.

"Hmph," she sat back in her seat, pleased with herself, "Then stop teasing me!"

Soul leaned towards her over the armrest, "You know you don't mean that." he smirked.

Maka felt her cheeks grow hot and was thankful for the darkness. She _would_ miss his teasing; secretly she liked the attention, "Oh just shut up. The movie's starting."

Soul stayed leaning towards her, his arm resting between them.

* * *

Maka stood and stretched her cramped leg muscles, "Ah, that was a good movie."

Soul followed suit, "Mm-hm." he agreed leading the way out into the lobby, "Now I gotta piss." He headed off to the restrooms.

Maka rolled her eyes, "I'll wait for you by the exit."

She strode over to the glass doors and gazed outside. Dusk was falling and the moon was emerging from below the horizon, grinning sleepily as it tried to wake up for it's nightly shift.* A few stars were visible, peeking through the fading blue sky. She leaned against the wall, staring thoughtfully at the moon.

"Beautiful, isn't it?"

Maka turned to see Soul slouching against the wall behind her. She smiled at him, "Yea."

He pushed off the wall and shouldered the door open, "Come on. Let's go home."

* * *

**A/N: The movie ****_Incognito_**** is not affiliated with any real movie or book. I just thought the title fit and used it. If there is already a movie called that, I didn't know, though it's highly likely that there is.**

***I just realized. You know how that one episode where Spirit and Maka were watching the sun go down and he thought it was funny how it was fighting to stay awake? Well the sun doesn't ever quit its job; it just goes to another area still shining… How does that make any sense!? (and here I am using the illogical concept in my story.)**

**~Again, sorry it took so long. Hope it was worth it. I'll try and get the next chapter up shortly.**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Hey guys, I just want to say that I'm sorry for not updating sooner. **

**But I promise you guys this: ****I won't leave this unfinished. I always hate when people do that. I will complete this story, no matter how long it take****_s._****  
I'm still loving the reviews! And each follow/favorite makes me smile!  
Thanks for the support!**

**Even though I haven't read the manga, I may use things from it that I read in other fanfics or researched. But forgive me if any of it is incorrect.**

**Please leave a review with thoughts, ideas, praise, and/or constructive criticism!**

* * *

The night had grown chilly and a light breeze was gently brushing the tops of nearby trees. Maka wrapped her arms around her body, shivering a bit as they walked. Soul glanced at her shaking form with concern, but she was oblivious to his gaze.

Maka was staring up at the sky again, not paying too much attention to where she was walking. Soul cursed her for being so careless as he quickly pulled her out of the path of a telephone pole, "You're such a stupid girl," he teased.

"Sorry," Maka blushed with embarrassment, making sure to watch where she was going the rest of the way.

After a couple of minutes they reached Soul's orange motorcycle parked out front of the café. Soul got on and started the engine while Maka sat behind him, hugging his waist. He started off down the road slower than earlier, actually going the speed limit. Maka curled into his back, escaping the cold wind that blew past, chilling her arms and legs.

The drive through the city was short and soon Soul was swinging into the parking spot outside their apartment building. He turned off the engine and twisted a bit to glance at Maka, "I'm sorry, I should have given you my jacket," he said to the shivering girl behind him.

"I'm fine," Maka pulled her hands from where they were warming her arms, "It really isn't that cold."

Soul swung his leg around the other side and turned to fully face her with his body. He pulled her into a hug, wrapping his arms around her shivering figure, "Then why are you shivering?"

Maka's eyes widened. Soul rarely ever hugged her; it just wasn't cool, especially not outside the privacy of their apartment. Regardless, she laid her head on his shoulder and snuggled into his warm chest.

"It's not supposed to be this cold in the spring," Maka mumbled.

"Death City just has weird weather."

She smiled, "Like that time it snowed in April?"

He laughed, "And it never even snows during the winter."

"It did once, a few years ago," Maka pointed out.

"I remember that. School was out for two days and we all met up at the park for a snowball fight. That was really fun," Soul nuzzled his nose into her hair, closing his eyes and breathing in the smell of her shampoo.

A few minutes passed before Maka started to feel a bit uncomfortable and pulled away gently, "We should go inside," she slid off the seat and stood up.

Soul reluctantly threw his legs over to the side and dropped to the ground, his feet landing softly on the pavement.

Maka waited for him on the curb, silently staring up at the stars.

Soul came up beside her, shrugging off his jacket, and laid it over her shoulders.

"Wha-" Maka looked at him confused.

"Come with me," Soul grabbed her hand and led her down the sidewalk past the apartment building.

"Soul," Maka stumbled along behind him, tugging his jacket on over her arms, "Where are we going?"

"I just wanna show you something," Soul insisted, following the concrete walkway down the block. He turned left at the corner and took another quick left into a gated archway.

"The park?" Maka stood beside him, their hands still intertwined.

Soul nodded, leading her towards the center of the grassy area. Due to the lack of street lamps to illuminate their steps, they tripped over twigs and holes in the ground before stopping on a small hill.

Maka was still trying to interpret his actions, "Why did you bring me here? I've been here plenty of times."

"I know," Soul sat down in the grass, pulling her down with him, "But take a look at this." He leaned back on the ground, resting his head on his left arm, the other splayed out to continue holding Maka's hand.

Maka hesitated before falling back into the soft blades of grass that sprouted from the dirt, her pose mirroring Soul's. She looked over at him, but he was staring up at the sky, a content smile on his face. Maka followed his gaze and gasped.

Spread out across the heavens were millions of stars; all different sizes. Out here without the street lamps, there was no light to compete with the tiny balls of fire out in space.

She lost herself in the twinkling stars above, mentally tracing all the constellations that she knew. With Soul's jacket on, the night air no longer chilled her. She breathed deeply into the collar of the fabric, inhaling that familiar comforting smell of her weapon partner. Maka relaxed her shoulders, smiling happily at the sky.

Soul gave her hand a light squeeze which she returned, "Thank you," Maka whispered.

Soul stared back up at the stars, lost in thought.

"Are you happy, Maka?"

Surprised by the sudden thought, she turned to face him, furrowing her eyebrows, "Um, yea. I guess so."

She took a moment to ponder his question. She had both of her parents, even though her mom was never there and her dad was, well, Spirit. She had a great group of friends that cared about her. And the best partner that anyone could ask for.

"Yes," she smiled, "I am happy."

Soul smiled back at her, "I'm glad."

"What brought that on?" Maka inquired with a tilt of her head.

"Just wondering," Soul gazed back at the sky.

A minute of silence passed before Maka asked quietly, "Soul. Are you happy?"

"Yes," he closed his eyes, "Very happy."

Maka smiled.

They stayed lying in the grass until it got too cold and their eyes couldn't stay open. Soul and Maka walked back down the street to their apartment building and up to the second floor.

Soul reached for the keys in his pockets then realized he didn't have his jacket on, "Maka," he gestured tiredly at the left pocket, "keys."

She understood and groped inside the pocket, producing a key chain. Fumbling for the right one, Maka inserted it into the lock and turned until it clicked. She pushed into the room and felt for the light switch. Locating it, Maka flipped on the overhead light and walked over to the counter.

A sudden growling noise startled Maka causing her to jump, "What was that?"

Soul bit his lip and looked down at his stomach, "I think we skipped a meal."

Maka sighed, a smile on her lips. "Well I'm not cooking anything. So help yourself." She shuffled into the bathroom, "There are some leftovers in the fridge!" she called before shutting the door.

Soul opened the refrigerator door and rummaged through the stack of Tupperware containers, setting a few out on the counter.

Maka went about changing into her pajamas and brushing her teeth while Soul finished off the leftovers from a few nights ago.

"I'm headed off to bed," Maka came into the kitchen, sleepily rubbing her eyes, "Don't stay up too late. We have school tomorrow."

Soul looked up from a plate of re-heated spaghetti, "Okay. Goodnight."

"G'night," Maka shuffled back into her bedroom and closed the door.

It took longer than she expected to fall asleep once she climbed under the warm covers. Soul had finished eating and was moving around the apartment from his room to the bathroom and back. As soon as the apartment was silent, Maka closed her eyes and dozed off.

**A/N: I'm going to be busy with school for the next two weeks. I'll try to write on the weekends, but who knows.  
Then it will be spring break and hopefully I can catch up while I'm on vacation during a 16 hour car ride to Colorado! So, bear with me! (Is that the right bare?)**


	5. Chapter 5

**Well, here's an extra-long chapter for you guys to make up for the wait! I'll be leaving this weekend to go to Colorado so hopefully that means I'll have more time to write since school's out. But it may just mean I'm busier. We'll see.**

**Read and enjoy! Please review!**

**P.S. Thank you to everyone who has reviewed and favorite/followed. I have been reading the comments and I would've like to respond personally to each fan, but that's not going to happen, so here's a big shout out to you guys: THANKS!**

**Disclaimer: (I've been forgetting this, but I think everyone knows…) I do NOT own Soul Eater or it's characters!**

* * *

An obnoxious beeping penetrated the air, jolting Maka out of a peaceful dream. "Ugh," she moaned, twisting on her side to slam her palm onto the snooze button. The alarm shut off, bringing about silence once more. The time shown in red blocky numbers; 6:30.

Maka mumbled under her breath about staying up too late and rolled out of bed. She sat up with her legs hanging over the bed and then plopped back onto the mattress, closing her eyes. "Get up Maka. You have to go to school," she commanded herself. All of a sudden a loud beeping echoed through her head. Maka's eyes flew open as she processed the sound. Oh right, she hit _snooze_ not _off_. Maka leaned over and pressed the small power button beside the snooze. The noise stopped again but this time she was better awake. "Okay. Up, up, up. School is in an hour," She pushed herself off the bed and stretched out her limbs before proceeding out into the hallway.

Maka went into the bathroom and looked herself over in the mirror. Her hair was tangled in knots, and she had slight bags under her eyes from lack of sleep the night before. Why did she agree to stay out so late last night? They were at the park for a good 2 hours while they talked and silently enjoyed each other company. That's what was nice about Soul, Maka thought, he didn't have to talk every second. They shared comfortable silences with each other and sometimes that was better than speaking.

They understood each other, and that's why Maka couldn't understand why Soul was being so... Intimate. He had never really hugged her before, not unless he was comforting her. And yes they had held hands before while Maka was dragging him around, but it was never like this. And he would _never_ attempt cooking, that was definitely wrong. But what stumped Maka the most, was that his soul seemed to be exactly the same as before. Okay, Maka wasn't stupid, she understood that Soul was treating her like a girlfriend sometimes, but come on; no one could like her flat-chested self. Besides, he had this aura of sadness that surrounded him. And when he hugged her, it didn't seem like it was for her sake more than for his. It was like he needed the affection, not like he was giving it away.

Maka emerged from her room fully dressed, wearing a black skirt and a green shirt that brought out her eyes. She put her hair up in low pigtails then walked across the hall to Soul's room.

"Soul!" she knocked on his door, "Get up! I'm starting breakfast, and we have to leave for school in less than an hour!"

She heard some slight mumbling, clearly expressing that he wasn't going to get up on his own accord.  
Maka grumbled and turned the knob, peeking her head around the edge of the door.

Soul was lying on his stomach, drooling all over his pillow. Maka sighed and walked over. She poked his bare arm and called his name repetitively, "Soul. Soul. Soul. Wake up, Soul."

"Five more minutes..." Soul mumbled into his pillowcase.

"No, you're not sleeping any longer! We have school and we can't be late," Maka shook his shoulder forcefully.

"Argh," Soul opened one eye to glare at her, "Fine. Okay, I'm up."

Maka wasn't satisfied, "Then get out of bed, I'm not leaving until I know you're fully awake."

Soul smirked, "Okay then," he fell back into his pillow and closed his eyes again.

"SOUL!" Maka yelled angrily. She grabbed his arm and pulled him over the side of the bed in one swift motion. Soul yelped as he fell over the edge, landing with a thud on the carpet.

"Dammit Maka! I'm awake, okay?" Soul huffed, pushing himself to his feet.

Maka glared at him in his black and red boxers, "Just hurry up and come eat." She grumbled as she left the room, closing the door behind her.

Soul stayed staring at the door for a moment before turning and going over to his dresser to find something to wear.

Maka was standing in front of the stove, using a spatula to flip a pancake onto a plate before pouring in more batter for another piece of flat perfection. Soul emerged from his room dressed in red pants and a black shirt, his hair hanging wildly in his face.

He shuffled over and reached in the cabinets, pulling out a bottle of syrup. He set it on the counter and leaned back against the wall, absently running his tongue along his sharp teeth.

Maka eyed him curiously, "What's up?" She asked, sensing he was worried about something. He had a habit of messing with his teeth when he was in deep thought.

Soul slowly turned his head towards her, "Hm?" his red eyes seemed distant and distracted. He blinked a few times, coming back to reality and came off the wall, "What's up with you? Finish cooking, I'm hungry!"

Maka growled at him, but nevertheless fixed him a plate of pancakes and set it on the table.

"Thanks," he mumbled, sitting down at their small kitchen table.

"Just eat quickly, "Maka came and sat down across from him.

* * *

"SOUL!"

Soul whirled around at the sound of his name. BlackStar came running up with his hand outstretched in a high-five.

Their hands collided with a smack as they grinned at each other.

"BlackStar, wait for me," Tsubaki trotted up behind her partner.

Maka backed up a few paces from where she was headed up the stairs into the school. She went over to stand beside Soul, "Hey guys."

"Hello Maka," Tsubaki smiled, "How was your weekend?"

Maka glanced at Soul, a grin appearing on her face, "It was very good. We had lots of fun."  
Soul's lips curled into a small smile.

"That's great. Our weekend was also very good. BlackStar kept me really busy," Tsubaki looked at her meister.

"Ha," BlackStar pipped up, "You were busy trying to handle my godliness!"

Tsubaki laughed, "Yes BlackStar. Of course I was."

"Hello Maka, Soul, Tsubaki," Death the Kid came striding up to their group, nodding at every one in a greeting. He sighed, "And BlackStar."

"What? Can you not handle my godliness?" BlackStar stomped over stand in front of Kid.

Kid just looked at him, a bored look on his face. Liz and Patti appeared on either side of him.

"Hey Kid, Liz, and Patti," Maka did a small wave.

Liz and Patti went over to the other two girls and started chatting while Kid joined Soul and BlackStar's argument.

The muffled sound of a bell brought them back to reality.

"Dammit, we're going to be late for class!" Maka whined, breaking away from the group and jumping up the steps.

"C'mon Maka," Soul rolled his eyes, running up after her, "Stop being such a nerd!"  
The other teens followed close behind, pushing open the doors of the DWMA and sprinting through the halls to class.

Maka and Soul made it to Sid's class right before the late bell rung. They stood in the doorway, panting from the exertion of running at full sprint.

"Nice of you both to join us," Sid crossed his arms over his chest.

"Sorry," Maka gasped out, straightening up and heading to her seat. Soul sat down next to her, laying his head on his desk.

Sid started class, walking around talking, and occasionally writing notes up on the chalkboard.  
Maka scribbled on the notebook in front of her, jotting down important points in the lesson. Soul began snoring softly after about ten minutes.

"Soul!" Maka whispered, jabbing him in the arm with her pencil, "Wake up!"

His eyes opened sleepily, glaring at her, "But I'm tired."

"Then sleep more at home, not in class," Maka retorted, going back to her notes.

Soul watched her lazily with one eye open, halfway listening to Sid's drawling voice at the front of the class.

"Read chapter 4 and complete the questions for homework," Sid finished up the lesson, "It's due tomorrow; no exceptions other than if you are out on a mission!"

The class dismissed as the bell rang. Students stood up, pushing back their chairs and filed out the narrow doorway, shoving past their classmates in a rush to get to their next class on time or meet up with friends in the hall.

Maka gathered up her stuff and grabbed Soul's arm, dragging him out of the classroom. She turned left down the hallway and headed straight for second period.

Second and third period went by in a quick blur and soon the bell was ringing to signal the beginning of fourth.

"Okay class. Today we're going to take a break from dissecting things, unfortunately," Professor Stein sat leaned over on the back of his chair. His glasses glinted in the light when he moved, "So instead we're going to do a textbook assignment."

The class moaned in unison. Everyone would rather dissect something and take a break from bookwork. The other teachers had been piling on loads of work to get ready for exams at the end of the year, which were rapidly approaching.

Maka twirled her pencil between her fingers, mentally calculating the amount of work they were going to have to do tonight if this kept up.

Soul had his head down on his crossed arms, yet he still had his eyes open and was somewhat paying attention.

Professor Stein passed out the books that had only been used about once before. He came up the isle next to Soul and handed him a book. Soul reached for it without looking up, avoiding eye contact with the Professor.

Stein stared at him with a scrutinizing expression and muttered for only Soul to hear, "Stay after class please, Mr. Evans."

Soul flickered his crimson eyes to glare at the Professor.

Stein continued up the isle handing out books and explaining the lesson.

The bell rang after what seemed like only a few minutes. Maka finished the last question while Professor Stein told them to complete the assignment for homework if they didn't get it done during class.

Maka smiled to herself for completing the work in class so she didn't have to do it later. She stood and grabbed her books. Pushing in her chair, Maka started to head out of the classroom.

"Maka, wait," Soul was a few feet back, slouched behind her, "I gotta stay and talk to the professor," He pointed a thumb back at Stein waiting patiently at his desk. "You go on ahead, I'll meet up with you at lunch."

Maka looked at him, her brows furrowed in confusion and worry, "Um, okay. Is everything alright?"

Soul turned away from her, "Yea. Everything's fine. Don't worry about it. I'll explain later," he waved her off as he went over to Professor Stein's desk and sat across from him in a plastic chair.

Maka watched him for a moment, then spun on her heel and walked out into the crowded hallway.  
It was weird not having Soul with her in the hall. She was so used to turning and asking him something while they walked over to the mission board to meet up with friends and select an assignment. Now she stood alone, staring up at the countless souls that needed collecting.

"Hello Maka," Kid came up beside her, followed close behind by Patti.

"Oh hey, Kid," Maka turned to him, "Hey Patti. Where's Liz?"

"In the restroom reapplying her makeup," Kid stuck his hands in his pockets and looked up at the missions available, "Where's Soul?"

"He had to stay behind and talk to Professor Stein." Maka stepped forward and claimed a mission paper, tucking it neatly into her school folder.

"What for?" Kid asked, reaching up to select his own. He showed it to Patti, "Sound good?"  
Patti grinned, "Yeah!"

"I don't know," Maka started walking to the cafeteria, "He didn't say."

Kid followed with Patti in tow. Liz appeared behind them shortly, filing her nails as they walked.  
They entered the cafeteria together and spotted Tsubaki and BlackStar already sitting in the group's usual spot.

"Hey guys," Maka chimed, setting her books on the table beside Tsubaki.

"Are you going through the line to get lunch, Maka?" Tsubaki started to stand.

"Yea, are you coming?"

Tsubaki nodded, following Maka to the end of the line.

"Where's Soul?" The weapon asked, grabbing a tray.

"He's talking with Professor Stein," Maka held out her tray to the lunch lady, receiving a small pile of mashed potatoes with gravy streaming down the sides. She nodded happily as the next lady offered a piece of baked chicken.

"Oh. What about?" Tsubaki grabbed a cup of fruit off the counter as she made her way through the line.

Maka sighed, "I don't know. It's weird, him staying after class like that."

"Maybe he did poorly on an assignment or forgot to turn something in?" Tsubaki suggested.

Maka shook her head, "No. I made sure he got all his work in and we already got back our test grades; he did fine."

The two girls came up to the register and punched in their lunch code. The cashier waved them through once they paid.

"I'm a little worried about him actually," Maka stayed back by the wall so they could talk before rejoining the rest of their friends at the table. "He's been acting strange."

Tsubaki leaned close to Maka to hear above the noisy cafeteria, "How do you mean?"

"Like, well it may not seem that weird to you. And maybe it's stupid. But he's hugged me a few times. And Soul never hugs me. It's not 'cool', Maka emphasized, "And he went with me to the grocery store and even the bookstore! And he seemed somewhat interested in the book I picked out. Also, he took me out to eat and we went to a movie. Then we went to the park and gazed up at the stars for like and hour or two."

Tsubaki suggested timidly, "Um, well it seems as though he 'likes' you, Maka."

Maka blushed slightly, "I know. I thought about that. But it doesn't really seem like that. It's more like... It's hard to explain, but it seems like when he hugs me, he's doing it for himself, not me. You know? I feel like he needs the attention or whatever, not like he's giving it away. Does that make any sense?"

Tsubaki slowly nodded, "I think so. You think he needs someone to comfort him?"

Maka thought about it, "Yea. That would make sense. Oh, and also, he just seems generally depressed. Like he'll smile but its not..." Maka fumbled for the words, "-it doesn't reach his eyes. It seems as though something is wrong but I don't know what. But the comforting thing would make sense. Because he isn't good with showing any emotions of weakness; he expresses himself differently."

"Can't you use soul perception to check what's wrong?" Tsubaki asked, starting to walk back over to the table so they could start eating.

"I've tried and his soul looks fine! But he won't tell me what's wrong when I ask him," Maka exhaled in a huff, "Thank you for listening to me Tsubaki. Hopefully he'll be back to normal soon."

They reached the table and sat down amidst a heated discussion.

"You are the one who cost us the mission!" Kid jabbed a finger at BlackStar.

"A god like me doesn't mess up!" BlackStar leaned toward the Shinigami a scowl on his face.  
Kid scoffed, "You aren't a god BlackStar! Get that through you thick skull!"

BlackStar lunged across the table, flinging food everywhere as he pounced on Kid.

Kid fell back out of his seat and landed on the floor, pinned down by BlackStar. He forcefully kneed the assassin in the stomach and watched him topple to the side. Kid stood and held out his hands for his weapons.

Two silver pistols landed in his hands, aimed at BlackStar.

By now the whole cafeteria was staring, some of the kids quietly edging the two fighters on. The two girls at the table sat stunned. Tsubaki clambered to her feet and over to BlackStar, "BlackStar, please don't fight him." She pleaded.

BlackStar shook his head, narrowing his eyes, "He challenged my greatness; I have to defeat him."  
Kid lowered his guns slightly, "Do you want to take this outside?" He called.

BlackStar grinned, "Hell yeah I do."

Maka stood up, coming over between them, "Wait. You have to have a teacher monitor your battle."  
"Then go get us one," BlackStar snapped.

Kid lowered his guns to his sides, his finger still hovering over the trigger, "We'll be out front," he growled.

Tsubaki was still hoping to end the fight, but she knew her meister would never give in. She glanced at Maka and sighed, a flash of light exploded then a chain scythe appeared in BlackStar's hands.

Kid marched past them and disappeared out the door. BlackStar ran after him, followed by Maka, who was upset about the whole ordeal and frankly just wanted to sit down and eat her lunch.

On the way out the cafeteria doors, Maka turned and crashed into someone. "Oh gosh. I'm sorry," She looked up into the face of her weapon, "Soul! What did you- I mean did you see them run past- Kid and BlackStar?"

"Yeah," Soul pointed over his shoulder, "But why are they running around with their weapons out?"

Maka took off down the hall with Soul in tow, "I don't fully know. But Kid pissed off BlackStar and so he challenged him to a battle out front. They're both being idiots! But to keep them out of real trouble, they need a professor to watch them."

A crowd of students was now in their wake, eager to witness the fight between the assassin and the Shinigami.

Maka mumbled under her breath, "And now we have an audience! All I want to do is go and eat my lunch. Damn those two."

Soul glared back at the students piling after them, "I'll go get a teacher to monitor." He grumbled to Maka, breaking stride with her and going down a side hallway.

Maka ran outside shortly after her two friends. They were already circling each other. She leaned against one of the pillars holding up the awning and watched closely.

BlackStar made the first move, lunging forward. Kid raised his guns to shoot but BlackStar already planned to dodge to the right and swung his scythe at Kid's unguarded ribcage.  
Kid sidestepped at the last second, BlackStar's weapons grazing his shirt.

The assassin jumped back, landing lightly on his feet, "Tsubaki, enchanted sword mode!"

The two chain scythes glowed brightly before transforming into one long katana blade. Black lines appeared on BlackStar's skin, climbing up his arms and intertwining around his neck to reach his face. His green eyes closed then re-opened, now pure black.

Kid smirked, "Alright." He stepped back and placed his feet together, "Two can play at that game." Closing his eyes he projected his soul. Energy surged around him as spikes protruded from both his arms and Liz and Patti doubled their size, transforming into two large cannons.

"Noise level 5%," Liz yelled, ""Power at 89%"

Kid readied his weapons to fire at BlackStar.

Liz's voice sounded, "3!"

"2!"

"1!"

"Ready to fire!"

"DEATH CANNON!" Kid screamed, before firing part of his soul wavelength at his opponent.  
BlackStar took a defensive stance and held his weapon in front of him.

"Um BlackStar," Tsubaki called from inside the sword, "I won't be able to block this attack!"

"Of course you can," BlackStar laughed, "You forget that I'm a god! I can block any-"

The ball of energy struck the assassin, bypassing the weapon he was wielding. BlackStar flew back a good few yards and landed painfully on the concrete. His legs and arms were sprawled out from where he lay on his stomach.

"BlackStar!" Tsubaki changed out of her weapon form and knelt beside her meister.  
He weakly held up a thumb, "I'm good," he wheezed.

Kid strode over and squatted next to BlackStar, "Next time don't pick a fight with a grim reaper."  
BlackStar grumbled into the broken pieces of concrete.

The students who had come to watch were slowly filing back into the building. Maka turned to see Soul and Professor Stein standing beside her. She hadn't noticed them come up during the battle.  
Soul shook his head while looking at BlackStar, "Idiot."

Maka went over to Kid while Tsubaki helped BlackStar to his feet, "That was a good fight. You did well."\

Kid stood and threw his pistols in the air behind him. Liz and Patti transformed back and landed gracefully on their feet, stretching their cramped muscles. Kid turned his head to look at Maka, brushing off his dress shirt, "Thank you. It's just too easy to defeat this guy." Kid nodded his head at the assassin.

"What started all this?" Maka inquired, crossing her arms over her chest. Soul came up and joined the conversation, his hands stuck in his pockets.

"I really don't remember," Kid thought, "It was something about him being arrogant and ruining the last mission we went on with him."

Soul laughed, "What else would it be?"

Kid shook his head, "I know. But he needs to be set straight every once in a while anyway." He stretched out his arms, and popped his back.

Maka frowned, "You could've just waited until after school though. I missed lunch because of you two!"

Kid shrugged, "He asked for it." He glanced at his watch, "There's still time to eat if you hurry."

Maka muttered something then turned and headed back into the school. Soul ran up beside her. They passed Stein still sitting in the shade watching the others.

"Why do I hang out with idiots?" Maka asked out loud, somewhat a rhetorical question.

Soul grinned, "Because no one else can put up with you."

Maka glared at him as they returned to the cafeteria. She sat down at their table and started picking at her cold food. Soul sat beside her, stealing fries off of what had been BlackStar's tray.

"So what did Stein need?" Maka turned to her partner.

Soul stuck a fry in his mouth and before responding, "He was just getting on to me for sleeping in his class. He thinks I should pay more attention so I don't fail the exams."

Maka took a swig of milk, "Well I agree with him there."

Soul snorted, "I'll do fine. I pay _some _attention."

Maka sighed, "Whatever."

Soul continued to absently munch on BlackStar's fries, waiting patiently for Maka to finish her food.  
"What's wrong with you, Soul?" Maka asked quietly, not looking at her weapon.

Soul swallowed and hesitated before picking up another fry, "Uh, nothing. Why would something be wrong with me?" He plopped the potato wedge into his mouth and chewed slowly.

Maka fiddled with the plastic tray in front of her, "I don't know. You just seem..." She paused, "...Upset."

Soul nervously looked over at her, "No, I'm fine. Really." He insisted. "I mean, I haven't been sleeping well lately, so I'm more tired. But really, I'm alright."

Maka nodded and stood up, grabbing her tray. "Okay. Just know you can talk to me." She smiled at him.

"I know," he replied, his eyes on the ground. He followed Maka to the trash can where she dumped her leftover food and placed the empty tray on the counter.

**I really enjoy writing this! Thank you all for the support! I hope you guys continue to like my story. I plan on this being a good amount of chapters, maybe 10+ chapters total at this rate? **

**Review with some constructive critisism guys! Don't be mean about it, but if you find any mistakes or fallacies, please inform me so I can become a better writer. Now you guys are making me assume I'm perfect... which I am of course! :P**

**Oh, and hopefully I introduced the other characters 'in character'. I've mostly been reading MakaxSoul fanfics and haven't thought too much about the other characters.**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Well, I got caught up in a blizzard passing through Nebraska to get to Colorado. So that was exciting. I got to write a lot while in the car; switching between my iPod and my mom's laptop.  
Hopefully you like it! My brother actually did and he's been unhappy with the earlier chapters because he disagrees with SoMa. Oh well; Review with whatever! I you find mistakes or have a problem, comment!**

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Soul Eater or its characters. **

* * *

The rest of the day went by, quite uneventful. All the teachers were worried about the upcoming exams so they collectively piled on loads of work for the students to finish.

Maka was walking down the hall, after the bell for dismissal sounded, carrying two textbooks and an overflowing binder. Soul trailed behind her, his empty hands stuck in his jacket pockets.

"Soul, you really should bring home your notes to study," Maka glanced back at him.

He shrugged, "I can just use yours."

She scowled, "No! You need to take your own notes and do your own work."

"God, Maka," Soul let his head fall back in annoyance, "It's not that big of a deal. You're helping me study; not cheat on the actual exam," he grumbled.

Maka sighed, "Yes I'll help you study, but you still should pay attention in class. It'll help you on the test."

They strode out the front doors and into the bright afternoon sunlight. Soul shaded his eyes with his hand, "Maka, please stop worrying about me. I'll study and pass the exam, don't worry. It's not cool to fail a grade and stay behind," he grinned at her.

Maka smiled, rolling her eyes, "I know. I'm sorry. I'm just a bit stressed is all."

BlackStar came running up to them, "SOUL! MAKA! Let's go play basketball!"

Soul grinned, "Sure-"

"No! We have to study, Soul. No basketball until we're done," Maka cut him off.

"But it's Monday!" Soul protested, "We have a whole week before the exams. We don't have to do all the studying today."

Maka growled, "Fine. But we're going home at dinnertime," she gave in. "And don't expect me to play!" She walked off, heading down the stairs to the street.

Soul's grin widened and he high-fived BlackStar excitedly. "WAHOO!" BlackStar yelled.

"Well I gotta go change. Meet you at the court in half an hour," Soul started to trot off, "Hey is Kid coming too?"

BlackStar looked at him blankly, thinking, "Um. Sure, I'll go ask him!" he gave Soul a thumbs-up and went to find Kid.

Maka had already turned the corner and began walking to their apartment when Soul caught up to her. "Do you want me to help you carry your books?"

She hesitated before accepting his offer and handing him her two textbooks, "Thanks." She kept her binder, clutching it to her chest as she thought over everything she needed to do tonight.

"Oh!" Maka stopped and rummaged through the folder sitting on top of her notebook, "I got us a mission."

Soul's eyes widened slightly, a look of terror flashed across his face, "Wh-What?"

Maka furrowed her brow, handing him the slip of paper with the mission information, "I picked a mission for us to go on sometime this week," she said slowly, "It's two Kishin eggs. I thought it would be fine to squeeze in some progress on our soul count before exams." She watched him read over the details, concern in his eyes as he frowned. "What's wrong? Do you not want to go on a mission?"

Soul looked up slowly, not looking her in the eye, "Ah, no. I mean-" he stuttered a bit, "We probably should just focus on our schoolwork for now. No rush on becoming a Death Scythe," he laughed nervously.

Maka was confused, "Soul, if you don't feel up to fighting, that's okay. We worked really hard last week so we can take a break."

Soul handed her back the paper, "Um yea. I'm still worn out from that one battle. So, no missions this week if that's fine."

She bit her lip, "Okay. I'll turn this back in tomorrow then," they continued on their walk, "Actually, this is good. It leaves more time for studying!" She laughed, elbowing her partner.  
He smirked, shaking his head at her teasing.

* * *

They arrived at their apartment after about 5 minutes. Maka set her books and folders on the kitchen table then went to her room to change. She pulled on a pair of black basketball shorts and a light blue tank top; switching out her pigtails for a single ponytail on the back of her head.

Maka was in the bathroom applying her deodorant when Soul came in, shirtless.

"Have you seen my jersey?" he asked, "The red one."

Maka stared at the scar across his chest in the mirror, flashing back to the fight with Crona and the demon sword. "Uh, it might be in the laundry bin. I haven't been down to wash clothes this week yet."

"Okay, thanks," he disappeared into the hallway. Maka finished up in the bathroom and flipped off the lights as she rounded back into her bedroom to grab her shoes.

Soul walked into the kitchen to find Maka tying her shoelaces while looking over an open textbook.  
"Dude, take a break," he scoffed, slamming the book closed.

Maka huffed, "Do you know how much work we have to do tonight? A lot. So, sorry I want to get it all done."

Soul dragged her out of the chair and towards the door. She managed to snatch her notebook before he towed her outside.

The two teens started off down the sidewalk, heading to the court. Once the basketball goals were in sight, Soul turned to Maka and grinned, "Race ya."

Maka glared at him, but he took off anyway, knowing she would follow. Maka hated losing and would never pass up a challenge. She sprinted after him, clutching the notebook in her hand so it didn't slip out of her grasp.

She flew past Soul, her long legs propelling her forward. He didn't stand a chance against her. Maka was the one running around wielding a scythe, so she had strong muscles. Soul just had to sit there and look cool.

Maka slowed her pace and slammed to a stop on the concrete basketball court, barely out of breath. Soul jogged up behind her, holding his side, panting.

"Ugh," Soul gasped, "I should really work out more."

Maka laughed.

"COME ON! LET"S PLAY!" BlackStar yelled at the new arrivals. Kid stood to the side with Liz and Patti.

"Who're the team captains?" Soul straightened up and jogged over to center court.

"ME OF COURSE!" BlackStar pointed a thumb at his chest.

Kid rolled his eyes, "I'll be the other captain."

"Okay, great," Soul shrugged.

"Tsubaki!" BlackStar pointed to his weapon, picking her to be on his team.

"Soul," Kid picked his first teammate.

"Liz!"

"Patti."

"Maka!"

"I don't want to play!" Maka started over to the bench so she could study.

Soul grabbed her arm, "Maakaa… Just one game? You need to get your head out of your books every once in a while."

She narrowed her eyes, "No. And besides," she directed at Kid, "The teams are uneven with me playing."  
Kid cringed, his hands clenching at his sides, "It's alright. It's alright." He was more convincing himself than informing them.

Soul groaned, "Now you did it. And we almost got away with it too."

"I'll sit out," Tsubaki volunteered.

Maka shook her head, "No, it's fine. I need to study."

Soul snatched Maka's notebook from her hand and gave it to Tsubaki, "You can sit out this game," he said to the black-haired girl, "And you can sit out next game," he looked at Maka.

She sneered, "Fine."

Tsubaki went and sat down on the bench, contently watching the game unfold.

"Okay, now the teams are even. Happy, Kid?" Liz patted his shoulder gently.

"Yes."

"Yay! Now let's play!" Patti clapped happily.

BlackStar bounced the ball then held it out, "MY TEAM IS GONNA WIN! RIGHT GUYS?"

"Yeah," Liz agreed, twisting her cap around backwards, a determined expression on her face.

"Sure," Maka mumbled.

Kid's team started with the ball, and Soul dribbled it down to the goal, exchanging a pass with Kid before he scored.

"YEAH!" Soul high-fived Kid and Patti.

They switched starters and BlackStar got the ball. He stubbornly refused to pass it to his teammates and

Patti stole the ball from him, eventually scoring another two points for Kid's team.

"Look who's winning now, BlackStar!" Soul rubbed it in his face, making the assassin even more determines to win.

"You need to pass it to one of us before scoring, BlackStar," Liz instructed, slightly annoyed.

Soul scored another basket and now BlackStar's team had the ball.

Liz dribbled down the court, but got blocked by Kid. "Hey Kid, your bangs are uneven."

"Not falling for it," Kid frowned, but he was unable to resist a glance up at his hair.

"Ha!" Liz used the distraction to get past him and score.

"Dammit, Liz!" Kid swore.

"Dude, it's fine. We're still ahead by four points," Soul ran up beside him, grinning. He was panting hard, a hand pressed against his cramped side.

BlackStar ended up shooting a three-point shot after intercepting the ball from Patti, "OH YEAH! THE MIGHTY BLACKSTAR IS AWESOME!"

"Great job, BlackStar!" Tsubaki encouraged her partner from the sidelines, "Come on, Maka. Get in the game and score!" She yelled, rooting wholeheartedly for BlackStar's team.

Maka smiled at her enthusiasm and edged closer to the action.

Soul had the ball and was dribbled towards the goal, he spun away from Liz trying to block him and noticed his open teammate, "Kid!" he called, thrusting the ball at the Shinigami.

Maka ran up and caught the ball in the air, intercepting the pass to Kid.

"Go Maka!" Tsubaki called.

Patti stood in front of Maka, blocking her from making a shot.

"MAKA! PASS IT TO ME!" BlackStar waved to the right of her.

Maka turned to pass it, but was met by Soul.

He laughed, "Finally getting the hang of it?"

"Yeah, and I'm going to beat you," she grinned, pushing past him and twirling around to avoid Patti. She ran up and threw the ball once she had a clear shot. It hit the backboard and fell onto the rim of the goal. It started to roll around the orange metal.

_Please go in_, Maka begged.

The ball stopped rolling and started tipping over. It fell off the side of the goal and bounced on the asphalt before rolling a few feet and stopping.

Everyone was still for a second, then BlackStar burst out laughing, "That was hilarious! You actually thought it would go in!" he was rolling on the ground.

"How is that so funny?" Maka stomped her foot, clenching her fists in annoyance, "You're on my team! You shouldn't be laughing!"

"B-but your face!" He laughed.

Soul smirked at Maka, "It was kind of a failure."  
"You're the one who wanted me to play in the first place! I told you I'm no good," Maka argued defensively, her face turning red.

Soul punched her arm playfully, "I know, but you're doing great," he smiled.

Kid came over holding the ball, "We should let Tsubaki switch in now."

Soul glanced at his watch, "Yeah. Maka and I need to leave in and hour."

Maka gladly went and took Tsubaki's place on the bench, picking up her notebook.

"So who won?" Liz asked, wiping the sweat off her forehead.

"Our team," Soul grinned, throwing his arms around Kid and Patti's shoulders.

"THE GREAT BLACKSTAR DOESN'T LOSE!" BlackStar demanded.

Tsubaki came up next to him, "It's okay. We'll have a rematch and beat them this time."

BlackStar narrowed his eyes, focusing on winning, "Sure as hell we will."

They started the next game while Maka sat on the sidelines, silently reading through her notes.

"Hey, pass the ball!"

"Kid, over here!"

"Great job, Patti."

"SOUL, YOU MOTHER-" BlackStar voice cut off and Tsubaki let out a yelp.

Maka looked up to see the black-haired weapon lying awkwardly on top of BlackStar, the assassin's arms sprawled out on either side of him. Soul was on Tsubaki's leg, crushing her foot. Kid and his two weapons had managed to stay out of the tangled mess and were standing unscathed beside the others.

Soul sat up and removed himself from Tsubaki's leg while she clambered off her meister, pulling her arm out from under his leg. Kid helped Tsubaki to her feet and offered a hand to Soul. BlackStar jumped to his feet.

"WHY DID YOU TRIP ME?" he accused Soul.

"I didn't trip you!" Soul barked defensively, rubbing his bruised back, "You just fell over your own damn feet!"

"I DID NOT!" BlackStar ran at him, but Tsubaki held him back by his shirt.

"Please don't fight," she pleaded, as he tugged against her grip.

BlackStar stopped struggling and took a step back. Tsubaki let go of her hold on him.

Soul relaxed, and ran a hand through his unruly white hair, "I'm sorry, dude. I guess I accidently tripped you."

BlackStar gaped at him, surprised by the sudden apology, "Oh. Um yea. I'm sorry too. I overreacted," he stuck out a hand for a truce.

Soul grinned, then stepped forward and pulled BlackStar into a bro-hug.

BlackStar was taken aback, but hugged him anyway, grinning like a maniac, "Friends?"

Soul laughed, "The best of friends."

They broke apart and did a complicated handshake.

"Okay guys," Maka came over with her notebook, rolling her eyes, a smile on her face, "Time to break up the bromance. Soul and I gotta go."

Kid nodded, "We should leave too." He produced a skateboard in front of him and jumped onto it. It hovered gently above the ground while he held out his hands for his weapons. Liz and Patti obliged, landing as two silver pistols into his palms.

"See ya, Kid," Maka waved as the three of them flew off down the street to Kid's mansion.

"Come on, Tsubaki," BlackStar started off to the left, waving a hand back at Soul and Maka, "See you mortals tomorrow at school!"

Tsubaki genuinely waved at them, smiling over her shoulder, "Bye Maka. Bye Soul."

"See you both tomorrow!" Maka waved back.

Soul started walking towards their apartment, squinting against the setting sun.

Maka ran up next to him, pulling her hair out of its ponytail, "I call the shower first. Then I'll make dinner."

Soul shrugged, "Okay."

"But you have to study while I'm doing that, not watch TV," She smirked.

He groaned, "But my show is on in thirty minutes!"

"Nope," Maka wagged a finger at him, "No TV. You need to study and I'll come help once I've showered and fixed dinner."

"You're mean," Soul huffed, "Ya know that?"

Maka grinned, "Of course I do, that's why I do it."

Soul growled, and took off running down the block to the apartment complex. Maka followed close behind.

* * *

Maka looked up from her textbook, running a hand through her damp hair. Soul sat across from her, slouched on the table with his mouth open, drooling.

Maka sighed, "I guess that's enough for tonight," she muttered to herself.

She closed her book and placed all her notes and papers back into her black folder. Standing up, she stretched and yawned, "Goodnight, Soul." She ruffled his hair a bit before leaving him in the kitchen and going to her room.

"Goodnight, Maka..."

**A/N: Yep, fun. I just wrote the rough draft of this while sitting in my car during a llama attack.  
Haha, okay my brother wrote that and it made me laugh so I kept it. But really I was stuck in a blizzard. Hope you enjoyed!**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Yay, chapter 7! Hopefully I can write the next few chapters, maybe even finish during this trip! But I won't put the chapters up all at once even if I do finish, so stay with me. :) **

**Don't forget to review, please! I love reading everyone's comments! :)**

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Soul Eater or its characters.**

* * *

"Soul! Time to get up..." Maka walked sleepily into his room, only to find it empty.

Oh right. He had fallen asleep in the kitchen last night, she remembered. Maka trudged into the living room and found him sprawled on the couch. Soul had apparently woken up in the middle of the night to find a more comfortable sleeping place and ended up on the cushioned sofa.

Maka decided to let him rest a while longer as a reward for staying up late to study. She began making breakfast; scrambled eggs, toast, and bacon. While the bacon was sizzling on the pan, Maka finished up cooking the eggs, chopping the eggs up with a spatula. The delicious aroma caused Soul to stir and open his eyes partly.

He gazed over at Maka in the kitchen. "Good morning," he yawned before sliding off the couch and slumping on the carpet floor in an attempt to get up.

Maka served his plate and sat down with her own, "Good morning."

Soul picked himself off the ground and shuffled over, slouching in his seat, He started poking sleepily at his eggs, his brain still struggling to wake up.

"Thank you for studying last night, Soul," Maka smiled at him, taking a bit out of her toast.

"Huh? Oh um, sure," Soul mumbled, "Not like I had a choice."

Maka rolled her eyes and went back to reading the thin paperback novel she had in her free hand.

Soul watched her for a moment, absently picking at his strips of bacon, before he spoke, "We should have a party or something."

Surprised, Maka looked up from her book, "For what?"

Soul shrugged, "Nothing particular. Just a hang out with the gang." He referred to their friends.

"I mean, it sounds fun," Maka marked her page and set the paperback down, "Did you want to have it Friday night, to celebrate the fact that exams are over?"

Soul bit his lip, "I was thinking more like tonight or tomorrow evening."

Maka finished her food and took her dishes to the sink, "Soul, we can't have parties before exams! We all need to focus on studying."

Soul frowned, "Come on. Please?" He gave her puppy dog eyes, though the red irises didn't help with the innocent look, "We'll have it tomorrow night at like 6:00 and I'll study the entire time after school today, then all the way up until the party."

Maka pursed her lips, considering his offer.

"I'll even stay awake in all my classes and take notes!" Soul pleaded desperately, instantly regretting his latest compromise.

Maka's lips curled into a cruel smile, "Okay; deal."

Soul sighed; but he was grateful.

"So we're having a party over here tomorrow night at 6?" Maka confirmed, heading to the bathroom to fix her hair.

"Yep," Soul followed and leaned against the doorframe, watching her hands move to pull her ash blonde hair into two pigtails.

She glared at his reflection in the mirror, "Go get ready for school! It's almost time to leave and you're not dressed."

Soul turned away and grumbled sarcastically, "Yes mother."

Maka brushed through a tangle at the end of her bangs, "I heard that!"

"Good," he smirked.

She finished in the bathroom then gathered up her books and waited patiently by the counter.

"Oh, and Soul," Maka called; he appeared around the corner pulling on his shoes, "Since we're hosting a party, I'm going to need to run to the store and pick up some extra food."

"Ah, okay," Soul grabbed his jacket off the back of a chair and went to the door. Taking his keys off the hook where they hung by the door, he explained, "We'll take the bike to school so I can drive you to the store afterwards."

Maka followed him out the door, locking it behind her, "Okay, thanks."

* * *

"So, can you all come?" Maka asked the group at lunch about the party tomorrow evening, "I know the exams are coming up, but we should take a little break from studying anyway."

Liz glanced at Kid, silently asking if they were free to go. He thought for a moment then nodded, "Yes. We can come."

"Yay!" Patti grinned, "Party!"

"This should be lots of fun. We haven't really all gotten together much lately except for basketball," Liz smiled, taking a bite of her salad.

BlackStar mumbled with his mouth full of food, "Me and Tsubaki will be there too."

Tsubaki ignored his lack of manners and looked at Maka, "Do we need to bring anything?"

Maka shook her head, "Nope. Just yourselves and your appetite."

"I could come over earlier and help you cook," Tsubaki offered.

"That'd be great," Maka nodded happily, finishing her chicken sandwich.

"Does it have to start at 6?" Kid asked, a look of disgust on his face.

Maka sighed, "You can come at 8, if you really want to, Kid."

Liz groaned, "Come on, Kid. Really? If you don't go at 6, we're leaving without you."

Kid composed himself, "No. I'll be there at 8:00 sharp. You and Patti can go whenever. I can just stay behind and... Fix the paintings."

Patti laughed, "Whatever. Me and sis are going to have so much fun without you!"

"Yeah you'll have fun! Because I'm going to be there!" BlackStar shouted.

Tsubaki sighed, "Please don't yell inside, BlackStar."

He sat back, his arms crossed over his chest, and was actually silent for once.

"Hopefully they're done throwing homework on us," Soul had his head down on his crossed arms, an untouched tray of food pushed away in front of him.

"Are you sure you're okay, Soul?" Maka turned to him, worried.

He nodded slightly, "I'm just not hungry."

She frowned, "Okay."

They all went back to talking until the bell rang for them to head to 6th period.

Maka lead the way to Ms. Marie's class, concentrating on her steps. Soul shuffled along behind her, swaying a bit on his feet.

The two sat down in their adjacent seats. Soul returned to his position from during lunch and closed his eyes.

Maka opened her binder and got out a pen for taking notes, eyeing her partner with concern.

"Soul," she poked him gently in the arm, "You promised to pay attention in class remember?"

Soul opened his eyes to look at her through droopy eyelids, "I'm really tired though."

"Are you sure you feel okay?" Maka leaned towards him and placed the back of her hand against his forehead.

He closed his eyes again, shivering a bit at her cool touch.

Maka pulled away with a worried expression, "You're really warm. Maybe you should go see the nurse."  
"I'll be fine," he muttered.

The bell rang for class to start. Ms. Marie began calling roll when BlackStar suddenly ran into the room, Tsubaki on his heels. "THE GREAT BLACKSTAR HAS ARRIVED!" He yelled, strutting up the isle to his seat and sitting down with his feet up on the desk. His weapon followed shyly, apologizing to Ms. Marie about the interruption.

"Hey, Soul!" BlackStar leaned over his desk, demanding attention from the guy in front of him.  
Soul didn't respond even though he clearly heard the obnoxious assassin.

Maka glared at BlackStar, telling him to shut up. She turned back to Soul, "Go to the nurse, Soul! You're sick."

"No, I'm fine," he stubbornly refused. Maka knew he was lying; his face was pale and he kept rubbing his forehead, most likely due to a headache.

Maka's hand shot in the air, interrupting the teacher's lesson.

Soul growled at her, "Put your hand down. I'm fine, dammit!"

"Yes, Maka?" Ms. Marie looked up at her, acknowledging that she could speak.

"Soul isn't feeling well. Can I take him to the nurse?" Maka gestured at the boy slouched beside her.

Ms. Marie adjusted her eye-patch, "Um, can he make it there by himself? I'd rather you not leave with him Ms. Albarn."

Soul pushed his chair back and stood up slowly, "Yea. I'll be okay." He scooted past Maka, "If I don't come to seventh then meet me by your locker after school." He whispered to her before heading down the stairs and out the classroom door.

"Now where were we?" Ms. Marie clasped her hands together and continued teaching.  
Maka furiously scribbled notes down, constantly glancing out the open door into the hallway.

"He'll be alright, Maka," Tsubaki called softly.

"I hope so," Maka mumbled sadly.

* * *

Soul hadn't shown in last period, so Maka was waiting for him at her locker.

Liz came by with Patti, "Hey girl! So what're we gonna do at this little party of yours?"

"Uh, I don't have anything specific planned. We'll just hang out and do whatever I guess. You could bring over a movie to watch or some games," Maka suggested, "Though I really don't want to stay up too late."

"Well you're no fun," Liz teased.

Maka scoffed, "We have exams this Friday and I plan on passing them all with high scores, thank you."

"I know, I know. You're a nerd. It's okay Maka, we're still your friends," Liz patted her shoulder jokingly.  
"Kid's coming!" Patti ran off and met up with Kid who was headed that way. He walked by with a wave at Maka and Liz joined them.

"See you tomorrow, Maka!" Liz called behind her shoulder.

"Bye!"

Maka unlocked her locker and started taking out a few textbooks and a folder.

"Again?" Soul's voice sounded behind her open locker door.

Maka peeked around to see her partner with his hands stuck in his jacket pockets.

"Again what?" She asked, shutting the door and replacing the lock.

"You're bringing home five books and a thousand papers just like you did yesterday," Soul grumbled, starting to walk with her outside.

"Because we have more work to do," she retorted. "So are you feeling better?"

He nodded, "Yea. Nygus gave me some medicine. I just have a small virus."

"It's not contagious is it?" Maka stepped away from him, raising an eyebrow.

He shook his head, "No. You're good."

"Are you still fine with running to the store?"

Soul nodded, "Mhm. I seriously feel alot better. So don't worry about me," he managed a small smile at her.

"Okay," she smiled back, "I'm glad."

The two arrived out by the road, walking over to Soul's motorcycle.

He sat down and started the engine. Maka opened the back compartment and stored her books in it before straddling the seat behind him.

Soul zoomed off towards the grocery store, only getting caught by one red light along the way and managing to avoid getting a ticket due to his speeding.

Maka dragged Soul through the automatic doors and grabbed a basket, "We need chips, some type of dessert, and a fruit or veggie tray," she listed.

"I call chips and dessert," Soul ran off down the chip isle.

Maka strolled over to the produce section and retrieved a veggie tray, also deciding to grab some fruit. She then backtracked to pick up a bag of rice and remembered that they were out of butter.

Soul was leaning against the checkout counter when Maka returned. He had three bags of assorted chip flavors and two boxes of chocolate-chip cookies. Maka added her items to the counter and smiled at the cashier.

It rung up to more than Maka wanted to spend, but Soul refused to give up a bag of chips so she went with it.

They got home around 4:30 and Maka went straight to her notes, reading over the text and memorizing information. Soul sat across from her, trying to concentrate on the complex formulas and terms.

They took a break for dinner, which consisted of ramen noodles, then continued to study into the night.  
Soul eventually couldn't keep his eyes open and he headed off to bed.  
Maka followed shortly, collapsing on her covers and falling into a deep sleep.

**A/N: I feel so accomplished! I wrote 6 and 7 over the course if two days and hopefully I can get 8- whatever done soon. And yes, I decided to torture you guys and make you wait. I really had this done by the time I put up chapter 6. But then you would get used to it, and we can't have that now can we? :P**

**Hope you like it still and I'm not boring anyone to death. I tend to write more details and sometimes I can take a whole paragraph explaining that they're sitting on a couch. But to me it's good that I can do that, so deal with it. ;)**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: 8! The symmetry! It can be cut in half either way and still retain its symmetrical nature! -Kid**

**Back home from my trip! Which means school, and school means less time to write. :( But hopefully I won't be as bogged down with work for a while. **

**We're getting close to the end, so stay with me. :)** **Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Soul Eater or its characters. **

* * *

Maka slowly opened her eyes, blinking away the film that covered them and squinted at the sun streaming in through the blinds. She lay there for a moment before realizing that her alarm didn't wake her up. Was she up early? Maka turned to read the red numbers of her alarm clock; 8:56.

Her eyes widened and she sat up quickly, throwing off the sheets. _Dammit, I slept in! _She rushed to find something to wear, pulling on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt.

Slamming her door open, Maka ran across the hall to Soul's room and started pounding on his door. "We're late for school! Get up right now! I've told you plenty of times you also need to get an alarm! But no, leave it to mine to mess up!" She screamed through the wood.

She proceeded into the kitchen and searched the pantry for something that they could eat on the way. Soul grudgingly stumbled into the living room, dressed in black jeans and a green shirt.

Maka threw a granola bar at his head before running into the bathroom and shutting the door. A few minutes later she emerged and started putting on her shoes. "Move your lazy-ass and finish getting ready!" She yelled to Soul, demanding he stop standing there. That jolted him into action and he quickly found his shoes and pulled on his jacket, taking a minute in the bathroom to brush through his hair.

Soul found Maka waiting impatiently by the door, tapping her foot. He hurried over and grabbed his keys, pushing open the door and hopping down the steps with Maka stepping on his heels.

* * *

The two partners ran up the steps to the school and Maka pushed through the front doors, Soul desperately trying to keep up.

"Look," Soul attempted to match her pace, "it's alright to be a bit late. It's only been like an hour."

"First of all, Soul Eater Evans; I have _never _missed class or been tardy," Maka responded curtly, not slowing her pace, "Secondly, exams are this Friday and it will be near impossible to make up all the class work we'll miss if we don't get to class soon. So, excuse me for worrying about our education. I wouldn't have a problem with you staying at home and sleeping all day, other than the fact that your grade affects mine!"

"Okay, okay," Soul held up his hands in surrender. Once they arrived at their second period, Maka knocked on the closed door.

It opened after a short wait and a certain red-haired lunatic stood in the doorway. "MAKA!" Spirit cried happily, running at her with his arms open.

"Oh great," Maka mumbled, holding up a hand to stop him from hugging her, "What are you doing here?"

Spirit mumbled against the hand that was in his face, still struggling to embrace his daughter, "Azusa is on a mission with Lord Death, so I'm substituting for her."

Soul stepped forward to separate the death scythe from Maka, "Not cool, man. Not cool."

"Can you please let us in class?" Maka growled, roughly pushing past her father, "We're already late." Soul followed, getting a glare from Spirit.

Maka found her seat beside Kid and sat down with an exaggerated exhale.

"Where have you been?" the Shinigami asked, watching Spirit return to the front of the class and resume teaching while staring longing at his daughter.

"My alarm didn't go off," Maka grumbled, getting out her pen and paper.

Soul slouched in his seat on the other side of his meister, propping up his head to sleepily pay attention to the 'teacher'.

"What did we miss in Sid's class?" Maka whispered to Kid, jotting down a few notes from the board.

"Nothing much actually. He gave us a practice test to review the last chapter, then we had free time to complete any other work," Kid erased a stray line on his paper, frowning at the shape of the letters in his name.

"Okay, thanks. I'll run after class and get the work from him," Maka ended their conversation.

Soul managed to stay awake, mostly because of Spirit's annoying voice and his constant staring in their direction.

The bell rang after what seemed like an eternity and Maka rushed out of the room before her father could speak with her again. Soul caught up to her in the hall on the way back to Sid's class.

Sid looked surprised when the pair came in, "Now you decide to show up."

Maka lowered her eyes, "Yeah. Sorry. My alarm didn't go off. Can we get the work we missed?"

Sid went over to his desk and gathered up some papers then returned and handed Maka two packets of work, "Here's the practice test we did; turn it in completed tomorrow. You got lucky, I let the class have free time after so you really didn't miss much."

"Thank you!" Maka gladly accepted the papers and left the room, headed for third period.

* * *

"Can you believe he had the nerve to talk to me?" Liz angrily complained to Maka, "What do I have to do to get him to leave me alone?"

Maka was only half-way listening to the girl ranting about her ex-boyfriend as she ate her lunch. Soul was picking at his food, taking small bites every once in a while. BlackStar was in a conversation with Tsubaki and Kid sat silently by Patti, ignoring her tangent about giraffes.

"So," Maka started, getting everyone's attention, "Party tonight at 6 still good?"

"No," Kid looked up with an unhappy expression.

Liz sighed, "Yes it is. And we will all be there at 6:00." She stared directly at her meister.

Maka left them to argue and turned to talk with Tsubaki and BlackStar.

The assassin grinned at her, "Duh! It wouldn't be a party without me! And I can't disappoint my followers."

Tsubaki lowered her spoonful of soup, "Should I come over around five to help get ready?"

"Sure. Five or five-thirty. There isn't that much to do, really," Maka nodded, "I need to clean up a bit beforehand, but dinner shouldn't take that long."

"Oh, alright," Tsubaki smiled, "And don't worry about cleaning up too much, I'm afraid we'll just mess it up even more." She glanced at BlackStar sloppily eating his fruit cup.

"Hey Soul!" the assassin called across the table with a mouthful of grapes, "Are you going to eat that?" He pointed his fork at Soul's uneaten meal.

Soul shook his head, pushing the tray towards him. Maka frowned, "Are you sick again?"

"No, I just haven't been that hungry lately," Soul rested his head on the table, his eyes drooping slightly.

Kid glanced over at Soul, "You have been looking sickly the past few days."

Soul grumbled, "I'm fine."

"You have a fever again," Maka pressed her hand against his forehead, her brow furrowed with concern.

"It's just that little virus I had yesterday," he brushed her hand away, standing up, "And all she's gonna do is give me some over-the-counter medicine. But if you really want me to; I'll go to the nurse."

Maka started to go with him, but Soul held his hand in front of her, motioning for her to stay. "I'll be fine by myself. Meet up with you in sixth," he muttered, turning and leaving the cafeteria with his hands in his pockets.

They all stared after him in silence before Patti spoke up, "What's up with him?"

Maka sighed, "He keeps telling me that he's fine, but then he says he has some virus" she trailed off.

"It's probably just allergies or something," Tsubaki suggested, "This spring weather has been a bit weird."

Maka shook her head, "I mean, I guess so. But why does he keep trying to act like he's fine when he's not? I want to help him."

Kid slid around the bench to fill in the space where Soul had been, Liz and Patti following beside him, closing the gap, "He doesn't want you worrying about him is all," he pat her shoulder gently, "Trust me; if it was something important, he'd tell you."

"I guess you're right," Maka mumbled sadly, staring out the open cafeteria doors.

* * *

Soul and Maka were walking silently down the hallway after school. She didn't ask how he was feeling, and he didn't tell her.

"So, are you ready for exams?" Maka broke the silence.

"I guess," Soul shrugged, "There's still another day of studying to do, though."

"Make sure you finish all your work tonight before the party; okay?"

"I will."

They continued in a comfortable silence outside, and rode Soul's motorcycle back to their apartment, each lost in their own thoughts.

Soul opened the door, flipping on the lights, then headed for the couch. He slumped down on the cushions and turned on the TV.

Maka followed in, setting all her books on the table, "You can watch TV for about an hour. Then you need to come study."

"M'kay," he mumbled, leaning over to lay on his side, flipping through the channels with the remote.

Maka started cleaning up the kitchen, washing the dishes and clearing off the table and the counters. She hummed a bit while scurrying around the apartment, picking up articles of clothing and trash lying on the floor. "Soul? Can you come pick up your room a bit?" Maka called, "I'm kinda scared to go in there."

He didn't answer.

Maka walked into the living room and found him asleep in the couch. Smiling to herself, she took the remote from his limp hand and turned off the television. She grabbed a blanket from the closet and draped it over his body, before continuing to clean quietly.

A hour passed and Maka was satisfied with her work, so she starting getting out her books to study.

"Soul," she went over and gently shook his shoulder, kneeling beside the couch, "Wake up. It's time to study."

"We'll that doesn't make me want to get up," Soul mumbled, curling into the couch more.

She laughed, "I know. But we also have a party later that you need to get up for."

"I'll just sleep until then."

Maka rolled we eyes, "No. You already slept for an hour. This tells me that I should make you go to bed earlier."

Soul opened one crimson eye to glare at her, "Fine, I'll get up," he sighed.

Maka smirked, standing up and going back into the kitchen.

Soul sat up and yawned before following her to the table. He slouched into a chair and began lazily skimming over notes and reading through the chapter.

They were still sitting at the table when there was a knock on the door, startling the two. "Oh, that must be Tsubaki," Maka stood and went over to the door.

"OPEN UP! THE GREAT BLACKSTAR IS HERE!"

"And BlackStar," Maka mumbled, unlocking the door and letting them inside.

BlackStar charged in first, marching over to Soul and shutting the textbook he had open, "Let's play some video games! I've gotta beat you!"

Soul grinned, "Sure. Except I'm going to be the one beating you."

"Ha! You can't beat a god like me!" He strut over to the couch and plopped down on it, searching for the TV remote.

Soul ran over and turned on his Xbox, grabbing two wireless controllers. He handed one to BlackStar as he slid down to the floor beside the assassin, resting his head on the edge of the cushion.

They began playing Black Ops 2, while the girls went to work getting ready for the party.

"I hope you don't mind that I brought BlackStar over earlier. He really wanted to come and hang out with Soul," Tsubaki set down her purse and began helping Maka in the kitchen.

"Oh that's fine. Soul probably needed some company anyway; I've been making him study for the past hour," Maka checked the pot of meat she had cooking on the stove.

"BlackStar has actually been studying pretty well. I feel good about the exams," she peered at the boiling broth, "So what did you have in mind for dinner?" Tsubaki asked Maka over the noise in the living room.

"Um," Maka took some things out of the pantry and gestured to the bag of rice, "I was thinking about beef tips and rice. But if you have any better suggestions..."

"No, that's sounds good," Tsubaki smiled.

"YOU TOTALLY CHEATED!" BlackStar suddenly yelled out, throwing down his controller.

"No I didn't!" Soul yelled back, "You just can't handle losing!"

"BECAUSE I NEVER LOSE!"

"You're gonna lose, BlackStar, face it! You can't win everything!"

"YEAH I CAN! BECAUSE-"

"No, you are not a god! Stop acting like you're better than everyone else!"

"GUYS!" Maka screamed, causing the two boys fighting to stop and stare at her with wide eyes, "Shut it! It's just a damn video game! If you're going to act like this all night, then I'm canceling the party; because I will not put up with your bickering!"

Soul looked down at the floor, ashamed and BlackStar rubbed the back if his neck. Maka rarely lost her temper, and when she did, it was scary.

"Sorry," Soul apologized to his meister.

"Yeah," BlackStar mumbled, "Me too."

"Sorry dude, I lost my cool," Soul looked up, "Friends?"

BlackStar smirked, "Duh." They fist bumped then fell back onto the couch.

"Now I can get back to beating you," BlackStar grinned.

Soul laughed, "How 'bout we play zombies instead?"

"Are you scared of getting beat?"

"No, I'd just hate to see you lose again."

Maka sighed and returned to the rice boiling in front of her, "I don't know how you put up with that guy."

Tsubaki giggled, "He's not as bad at home. I think he just gets more wild around his friends." She got some butter from the fridge and helped stir the beef broth. "Are you sure we can get this done by six?"

Maka took the butter and added some to the rice, throwing in a few chopped up mushrooms, "I hope so. I started a little late on the meat, but it seems to be cooking well."

Tsubaki nodded, starting to dice some onions, "How're things with Soul?" She asked quietly.

"I don't know. I mean, I've been forcing him to study so he's been distracted," she looked over at Soul focused on his game, shooting at zombies with a RPD, "What's worrying me is how tired he's been. He fell asleep once we got home and was out for about an hour. Plus this 'virus' he has going on. He still seems sick."

"Like Kid said, I don't think he wants you to worry about him. He's a big boy and can take care of himself. If he seriously needed help, he'd ask. I know he would," Tsubaki smiled reassuringly, "So just make sure you're always there for him and he'll be alright."

Maka bit her lip, still staring at her partner, "Okay."

Soul felt her gaze and turned to give her a toothy grin before going back to his game.

**A/N: Dun dun duun... Haha, I hope you guys are enjoying it! The party coming up soon should be fun. **

**Review please! :)**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Back home from Colorado, which means back into school. *sigh* So less time for writing again, but I'm hoping the teachers will go easy for a bit before worrying about exams.  
Disclaimer: I do NOT own Soul Eater or its characters.**

* * *

Six o'clock rolled around and Maka was finishing up in the kitchen when there was a knock on the door. She went over and opened it to see Liz, Patti, and Kid.

"Hey guys," Maka greeted them happily, "Come in."

Liz walked in, wearing sweat pants and a fitted shirt, carrying a large bag. Patti was also in sweats but holding a stuffed giraffe. Kid sulked in behind the girls, dressed in casual jeans and a black button up shirt.

"It's six, isn't it?" Kid mumbled, looking at the clock on the wall.

Maka was suspiciously eyeing the bag Liz had, "Um yeah. That's what time you were supposed to be here."

"You lied to me, Liz," Kid slumped against the wall and slid to the floor, "I can never trust you again," he breathed, laying his head in between his knees.

Maka looked down at him, one eyebrow raised and blinking.  
Liz sighed and continued into the room, setting her bag beside the couch and leaning over the back to watch the boys still playing zombies.

Patti laughed, "Sis changed all the clocks in the house two hours ahead so he would think it was eight instead of six!"

Kid groaned, mumbling under his breath.

"Oh," Maka mouthed, "Well then," she walked into the kitchen, ignoring Kid, and took some dishes out of the cabinet, "Since everyone's here; let's eat."

BlackStar jumped off the couch and ran to the table, Soul followed at a slower pace while Tsubaki came in from Maka's room and helped serve the food.

Liz and Patti sat on the couch with their plates, Kid slouched beside them, still upset at his weapon.  
Maka joined the group on the couch and began chatting with Liz and Patti. Tsubaki stayed at the table with BlackStar and Soul, silently following along with their conversation.

"How did your mission go yesterday?" Maka leaned against the couch, talking with Liz.

"It went well...I guess," she glared at Kid, "_Someone_ wouldn't fight because it was too symmetrical. Ihad to shoot it's arm to throw off the symmetry," she rolled her eyes.

"And you ruined it's beauty," Kid muttered.

"Don't forget about the ghost we found!" Patti added excitedly, smirking at her sister.

Liz paled, "Don't remind me. That damn Kishin egg was hiding in a haunted cave. And it was surrounded by a graveyard..."

Maka suppressed a laugh, "I'm sorry about that. But you killed it I'm guessing?"

"Mhm," Liz nodded, taking a quick bite of rice, "There was actually two of them. One in the cave and one was up the mountain a little ways."

"Did you go on a mission this week?" Kid tilted his head to glance past Patti and look at Maka.

She shook her head, twirling pigtails in her face, "Nope. Soul wasn't up for fighting this week. And it left more time for studying, so I'm not complaining."

Liz rolled her eyes, "Come on, Soul," she called into the kitchen, "Maka's gonna start growing mushrooms out of her head if you don't get her out of the house!"

He grinned, "I know. I make sure to feed her and take her outside at least twice a day."Maka turned and gave him a look, to which he replied by sticking out his tongue, a smirk on his face.

"Okay, ya'll! Game time!" Liz stood up and brought her empty plate to the sink.

"What'd you bring?" Maka washed the pile of dishes in the sink and set them on the rack to dry.

Liz sat on the floor beside her bag, the others piling around in the living room. She pulled an empty glass bottle from her bag and smirked, holding it up for everyone to see.

Maka groaned, "You would bring that wouldn't you."

Kid raised an eyebrow, a look of dread on his face, "Really Liz? _Spin the bottle_?"

"Well, _Spin the Bottle: Truth or Dare _version but yeah," she smiled happily, joined by Patti on the floor, where she was setting out a wooden board to spin the bottle on, "What else are a bunch of teens supposed to play? We should strive to fit our stereotypes," she laughed jokingly. "But really though," she became serious, "who's up for it?" She challenged.

"Me!" Patti cried, raising her hand.

"Come on, ya'll. Everyone should play," Liz looked around, "Unless you're too wimpy." She grinned at BlackStar.

He puffed up, "The great BlackStar will play and beat you all!"

"You can't win _Truth or Dare_, BlackStar," Maka mumbled, unhappily sitting down across from him.  
Soul eventually wound up beside her, with Tsubaki on his right. Kid sat on the left of Maka then Liz, Patti, and BlackStar.

"I know everyone knows how to play, so who wants to go first?"

"I will!" BlackStar couldn't resist being in the spotlight, even for a stupid game of truth or dare. He forcefully spun the bottle on the wood.

It finally stopped, aimed at Liz, "Ha! My first victim!" BlackStar grinned.

Liz crossed her arms over her chest, "Okay then. I choose 'dare'."

"Um," he looked around, "Hm." His eyes lit up, "You have to watch _The Shining_ later tonight!"

Her eyes widened slightly, then she shrugged, "I didn't bring that over, so good luck with that."

Soul smirked, "Uh, I own it. So you're watching it."

Her resolve faltered, "But that's like the scariest movie out there!"

BlackStar laughed, "Exactly!"

Liz looked down and sighed, "Fine."

It was her turn to spin, and it landed on Tsubaki.

"Truth," the black-haired weapon said calmly.

"Have you ever kissed a guy?" Liz leaned forward.

Tsubaki blushed bright red. She bit her lip, eyes flickering to her partner for a split second, "Um, yes."

"Oo! Who was it?" Patti chimed in.

"She already answered her one question," Maka saved her friend from further embarrassment, "You can ask if she gets chosen again."

"You're such a party pooper, Maka," Liz leaned over and punched her playfully in the arm.

Tsubaki met eyes with Maka and smiled her thanks, before spinning the bottle.  
It stopped on herself so she spun again, this time choosing Patti.

"Truth!" Patti sat cross-legged with the stuffed giraffe in her lap.

"Why do you like giraffes so much?" Tsubaki questioned, asking what everyone was secretly wondering.

She cocked her head, hugging the giraffe to her chest, "Because they are tall like sis and can kick lions in the face!"

Kid smiled, shaking his head slightly; Liz blushed at the compliment.

"Also they chew leaves like this!" She made a face, exaggerating the movement of her jaw as she pretended to be eating something with a bored expression.

Everyone laughed, lightening up the mood a bit,"Okay then," Tsubaki smiled, "That's good."  
Patti spun and it pointed to Soul.

"Truth," he said after a moments pause.

"Why don't you tell Maka if you're sick?" She narrowed her eyes at him.

He paled, "I'm not."

"Yes you are, you said you have some virus but you keep trying to hide it from everyone."

Maka motioned for Patti to stop pushing the issue, "You don't need to drag personal problems into this, Patti. But thanks for worrying."

Patti shook her head, "No. You should fix this now. He has to answer truthfully during the game."

Maka kept quiet.

Soul glanced sheepishly at his partner, avoiding all the looks from everyone else in the room, "Maka, I have a mild case of anemia. I wasn't trying to make it a big deal because it's not. I just didn't want you worrying about it since I'm already taking care of it. Nygus has given me some medication and I'm doing everything to get better. I should've told you from the start and avoided all this drama. I'm sorry."

"But you're going to be okay?" She asked, relived he had finally told her why he was being so weird.

He grimaced, but quickly turned it into a smile, "Yeah. I promise."

"See? Now it's all better!" Patti grinned, "Your turn, Soul!"

He took the bottle and spun it on the wooden board, picking Kid.

"Dare," he looked Soul straight in the eye, silently challenging him.

Soul smirked, his eyes twinkling evilly, "I dare you to cut the right side of your hair shorter than the left."

Kid's eyes widened and his jaw dropped, "You wouldn't. Pick something else! Anything!"

"Nope."

Everyone was looking at Kid now, refusing to let him out of the dare.

Soul jumped to his feet and ran into the kitchen, he returned with a pair of red scissors, snipping them in the air.

"No..." Kid squirmed against Liz's grip on his arm.

"If you back out of this dare, I'm going to make YOU move all the paintings an inch to the right everyday for a month," she growled.

"Now, sit still," Soul knelt beside him, "Or I'm going to cut more than your hair."

Kid kept struggling and trying to run away while Liz was clutching his arm to hinder his escape. Patti crawled over and sat in front of Kid with her arms crossed angrily over her chest, "Stay still and take the damn dare or I will kick your ass unconscious and do it for you."

The room went quiet, the group staring at Kid's mortified expression. He stopped moving and accepted his fate, tightly squeezing his eyes shut. Kid winced at every snip of the scissors across his beautiful, evenly cut hair. His hands clenching and unclenching; muscles tensed.

Soul stepped back and admired his handiwork. Kid cautiously opened one golden eye to glance at his new hair style.

The entire right side of his hair was about an inch shorter than the left and it had jagged ends.

Kid swallowed, mustering up the courage to deal with this new arrangement. But his OCD got the better if him and he fell back with a whine, "Why do you have to be so cruel? It was perfect! Now look at me, I'm a disgrace. I shouldn't even be alive..." he trailed off in a rant of mumblings.

"Oh you'll live," Liz rolled her eyes. "Good one, Soul," she fist bumped him.

BlackStar was laughing his head off, "Your hair is so uneven! That's hilarious!"

Maka was smiling, holding back a burst of laughter along with Tsubaki.

"That really was mean, Soul," Maka giggled.

"I know," he grinned, "That's why I did it," he winked at her. Throwing back her comment from earlier.  
She rolled her eyes, smiling as he went to return the scissors to the drawer.

"Well, it's Kid's turn," Patti poked at him laying on his back, covering his eyes in disgust, "but I'll spin for him."

It landed on Liz, but they decided to spin again and get someone new. BlackStar.

"Dare!"

"I dare you to dye your hair pink!" Patti grinned.

BlackStar squinted his eyes, "Challenge accepted! Where do I get pink dye?"

Tsubaki sighed, unsure about her meister changing his already conspicuous hair, "I can pick some up for you at the store later."

"Okay, Maka. You're the last one," Liz looked at her.

"Truth," Maka stated firmly.

"What-"

"Why is your chest so flat?" Soul cut in, elbowing her in the stomach. .

She blushed and folded her arms across her chest, "Because I can't control that!"

Liz laughed, "It's okay, sweetie. I'm sure you'll grow out sooner or later."

"So stop teasing me!," Maka shoved back, jokingly.

"But it's so fun," Soul smirked.

"I don't tease you about your appearance," she counteracted, "And that's weirder than mine."

"No, it's cooler than yours," he grinned, showing off pointed fangs and twinkling red eyes.

Liz started to stand, rolling her eyes, "Enough bullying, you too."

"So what now?" Tsubaki started packing up the game, handing Liz the bottle.

"Movie time!" BlackStar grinned at Liz.

"Dammit, I was hoping you'd forget," Liz cursed.

Soul and BlackStar raced out of the room, slamming into each other in the hall. Soul shoved past the assassin and into his room. They came back out with _The Shining_ in Soul's hand.  
"Here we are," he took the disc out of the case and placed it in the DVD player, turning on the TV.

Maka got up and flicked off the overhead light, leaving the light on in the kitchen.

"Who wants popcorn?" Patti jumped up from the floor, grabbing a bag of un-popped kernels from Liz's bag. She skipped to the microwave and stuck it inside, pressing a few buttons.

It whirred quietly while the movie started up. Kid sat at the left end of the couch with Liz scooting in close to him, tightly hugging a pillow to her chest.

Patti returned with a bowl of hot popcorn and sat beside her sister, curling her legs underneath her. BlackStar took the last open spot on the couch so Tsubaki was forced to sit on the floor in front of him. She leaned back against his knees, pulling her hair out of its ponytail and letting it fall loose around her shoulders.

Soul sat in the armchair, stealing the only other seat. Maka huffed, heading to the floor but Soul caught her shirt and dragged her back,"There's room beside me. Don't go sitting on the floor."

"Tsubaki had to sit on the floor," Maka retorted quietly, not wanting to disturb the others.

Soul rolled his eyes at her, "I think she's fine," he whispered, jerking his head in Tsubaki's direction.

She was snuggled against BlackStar's legs and he was absently playing with her long hair.

"Fine," Maka sighed, squeezing in the empty space beside her weapon. She had to lay her legs across his lap and lean her back on the armrest to get comfortable.

Finally everyone was situated and the movie started. Liz was hiding her face in her pillow half of the time and Patti had to steal it away to make her watch.

Kid was trying hard to not look at his uneven hair but he kept seeing it in his peripheral vision, causing him to squirm and mumble sadly. He wasn't paying much attention to the movie except when Liz would grab his arm painfully out of reflex, curling into his shoulder.

Patti had the bowl of popcorn in her lap and was sitting intently watching the horror film. She laughed at everyone's screams, giggling at her sister's reactions. BlackStar almost looked bored, having seen the movie multiple times. But he smirked whenever Liz screeched, enjoying her punishment.

Maka wasn't into scary movies and had pulled a book from the end table beside her. She sat flipping through the pages, reading in the dim light before Soul snatched the book away and forced her to watch.

An hour of the film passed and Maka was growing sleepy, her eyelids drooping. She leaned her head back against Soul's shoulder and closed her eyes. He shifted to get comfortable, ending up with an arm around her shoulder, twirling her pigtails around his finger. Maka fell asleep listening to the sound of screams and the soft thumping of her weapons heart, his shirt balled in her fist.

**A/N: I'm sorry, I couldn't resist some SoMa. And I threw in LizKid and TsuStar or however you combine those.  
Also, I've never seen The Shining, just looked up online for a ghost/ horror film.  
Hope it wasn't stupid, this is just what I see them doing at a party.**

**And hopefully there aren't any mistakes; my brother was rushing me to finish so we could go watch Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood. :P**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: I am SO sorry this took so long. I really feel bad that I couldn't get it up sooner. My friends and I have been having a lot of drama lately... and it's been chaotic. Thanks for sticking with me.  
Another big thank you to all the reviews! I'm loving them! Thanks for the motivation guys :)  
Disclaimer: I do NOT own Soul Eater or its characters. **

* * *

"Maka," a voice called softly, tugging the girl out of her dream and back into reality.

"Hm?" She mumbled, blinking her eyes open. She grudgingly released her grip on Soul's shirt and adjusted to the dim light. The TV was on a blue screen, casting an eerie glow upon the room and revealing Liz still huddled on the couch with Kid. BlackStar was fighting to stay awake, his head nodding. Tsubaki looked as though she was already asleep, but one of her blue eyes slowly blinked open and she rubbed a hand down her face. Patti was standing up and bouncing on the balls of her feet, grinning at her sister.

"The movie's over and our guests have a question," Soul looked down at her lying on his chest.

"What?" Maka glanced around, noticing the clock on the DVD player, "Oh my god. It's 11:20."

"Yeah," Kid came up, Liz clinging to his arm, fearfully casting glances behind her, "so we were all wondering if we could crash at your place for the night and go home in the morning before school."

Maka untangled herself from Soul's grasp and stood up, rubbing her sore back, "Ugh, this is why I didn't want a party until the weekend. I don't feel like dealing with this," she yawned, "So sure, whatever. Make yourself at home," she waved a hand, mumbling.

"All the girls in your room and all the guys in Soul's," Kid suggested like it was already a fact, heading sleepily towards Soul's room, dragging along his weapon.

"Can you please let go of me, Liz," Kid pried her off his arm, pushing her into Maka's room, "There aren't any ghosts here and nothing is going to hurt you."

Liz stood shaking outside of the door, "M-Maka, Tsubaki, can someone c-come here, p-please?" she squeaked out once Kid left her.

Maka walked over and flipped on the hall light along with her room's and the bathroom's, "Okay, fine. Everyone come on, there are extra blankets in the closet."

Liz still wouldn't go in the bedroom until Maka joined her. The guys headed noisily into Soul's room, BlackStar yelling and laughing loudly before Tsubaki silenced him. They could be heard chatting softly through the door.

Tsubaki and Patti joined the girls after grabbing more sheets and pillows.

"Maka?"

"Yes?"

"Is there going to be enough room on your bed?" Liz quickly climbed on and lay down, counting the amount of empty spaces that could fit a body. She felt better with everyone in the small enclosed room together, the overhead light providing a sense of security.

"No, but I get to sleep in my own bed. So then it's one other person, MAYBE two," she shuffled over to her drawer and pulled out some pajama shorts and a t-shirt.

"Can I borrow some clothes, please?" Tsubaki appeared next to her, "Just some sweat pants would be fine. I can wear this shirt." She gestured to her outfit.

"Here," Maka handed her both anyway, "Liz, Patti, are you fine?" Maka turned around, pulling a t-shirt over her head.

"Yup!" Patti cried happily from her nest on the floor, "I'll sleep down here. Goodnight everybody," she snuggled into the sheets with her giraffe. "Oh, and Goodnight Kid!" She yelled through the door.

"Goodnight, Patti," Kid's annoyed voice echoed into the room faintly, "Night, Liz."

"Goodnight everybody!" Liz made herself comfortable on the bed, "Now let's get to sleep."

"Wait, you both brought a change of clothes?" Maka stared at Liz, clad in a silky tank-top with a pair of shorts.

"Yeah, Patti and I brought pajamas. You never know," she shrugged innocently, falling back into the pillow and tugging the covers up to her chin.

Maka groaned before sliding in next to Liz, leaning over to check that the alarm was still on.

Tsubaki turned off the light then squeezed in the empty space beside Maka, managing to fit on the full bed.

"See? Told you we could fit three people," Liz mumbled sleepily.

"Goodnight, Maka," Tsubaki said softly.

But Maka was already out cold. A comfortable silence fell, only the soft breathing of the ones who were asleep echoing in the dark.

Something creaked in the other room.

"T-Tsubaki?" Liz stuttered.

"It was just a movie, Liz," Tsubaki groaned sleepily, "I promise nothing is going to kill you. Now please,

go to sleep."

"Okay..."

* * *

Maka sleepily came to, emerging from an exciting dream. She stared at the ceiling in the darkness, checking the sky outside to gauge the time. The grinning moon was still high up in the sky, signaling that it was too early to be waking up. Maka leaned over Liz's sleeping form and looked at the time; 3:42.

She groaned and fell back, trying to sleep, but realized her bladder was calling for relief and that must be what woke her. Maka slipped out of the covers and crawled over the top of the bed, avoiding bumping into her friends. She reached the door and quietly opened it, sneaking out into the hall and closing it behind her.

"Maka?"

She turned to the voice, "Soul? What are you doing up?"

"Bathroom," he shut his door, standing a few feet from her.

"Oh, me too."

"You first," he waved her on, tiredly running a hand through his hair.

Maka nodded, going into the bathroom and shutting the door. A few minutes later she emerged and looked at Soul leaned against the wall.

"You alright?" She stepped towards him.

"Yeah. Just really tired," he stumbled past her and into the bathroom, closing the door gently.

"Okay..." She looked sadly at the closed door then headed back to bed.

The sound of pills shaking in a bottle rattled faintly, then running water. Maka lay listening as this repeated twice, then the door opened and Soul shuffled off to bed, closing his door again.

Maka furrowed her brows, _what was that all about?_ She sighed and clambered back out of bed and into the bathroom.

Soul had sloppily left the cabinet drawer open, revealing multiple pill bottles. She picked one up and read the hand-written label: _Pain Reliever_. The next: _Artificial Soul Protection_. Another buried deep in the drawer: _Iron supplement_. Maka's eyes widened, "What are these?" She whispered, "All this for anemia?"

She silently pushed the drawer closed and went back to bed, stepping over Patti, before snuggling between Liz and Tsubaki.

Maka could no longer fall asleep, her mind whirling with questions and doubts. 6:00 came around with her eyelids drooping and a brain unwilling to let her sleep.

The alarm started beeping obnoxiously and Liz stirred beside her. Tsubaki sat up tiredly, along with Patti.

Liz slammed her hand on the off button and slowly pushed herself up on her elbows, "It's too early."

Tsubaki got out of bed and began changing into her outfit from yesterday. Patti pulled a pink hoodie over her head and sat quietly by the door, clutching her giraffe.

"You look terrible, Maka," Liz stood up and started tugging her sweats on over her pajama shorts.

"Thanks," she grumbled.

"Have trouble sleeping? I didn't kick you all night did I?" Liz grabbed her bag and brushed through her hair.

Maka shook her head as reluctantly got out of bed and changed, "Just thinking."

"You think too much," Liz smiled, "Relax sometimes, okay?"

Maka rolled her eyes and herded them out of her room.

Kid took Liz and Patti and headed out first, brushing through his hair in a fit about its unevenness. Liz suggested he could cut the other side and make it even. Tsubaki dragged BlackStar out, him complaining something about staying and sharing his godliness with these peasants.

Finally Soul and Maka were left alone with an hour or so to get ready for school.

"Soul?" Maka turned hesitantly towards him.

"What is it?"

She led him to the bathroom and opened the drawer she had gone through last night, "Have anything to explain?" She choked, tears welling up in her eyes. Tired from lack of sleep and distrust by her partner took their toll.

"Maka, I-"

"Why are you not telling me something? This isn't for anemia, Soul!" She yelled, trails of salt running down her cheeks, "Who gave these to you?"

Soul stood gaping like a fish, "I- I didn't want you worrying about me-"

"It's a bit too late for that!"

"There isn't anything to worry about though, these are helping," he struggled to explain, leaning heavily on the wall, "Stein, okay? Stein gave them to me, but don't drag him into this."

"What are these for?" Maka held up a pill bottle.

"The pain meds are for my scar, because it's been hurting lately. The iron is for my anemia," Soul ran his hand through his hair, avoiding eye contact with his meister.

"And this?" She held the bottle marked _Artificial Soul Protection _into his view.

Soul sighed, sitting up on the counter and leaning against the wall, "So no one would notice anything wrong. I don't want anyone worrying about me. I'm going to be fine."

"Why hide it? If you're fine then just explain the situation and no one is going to worry!" She wiped a sleeve across her face, wetting it with tears.

"Because people worry anyways," he looked up at her sadly, "Like you."

"I'm more worried since you felt the need to hide it from me," Maka spoke softly, tears streaming down her face. She stared at the wall, tracing patterns in the tile. "We're partners; it's my job to worry."

"And it's my job to protect you," he hung his head, putting a hand to his temple.

"This isn't protecting me," Maka whispered, "This hurts."

Soul blinked back a tear that threatened to escape, "I'm sorry. That was a stupid decision; hiding it from you. I won't do it again." He slid off the counter and walked up to her, pulling her into his chest and wrapping his arms around her.

Maka hesitated before laying her head on his shoulder and wrapping thin arms around his waist. She sniffed, blinking back tears, "Promise me you'll be okay."

"I promise," he breathed in her hair.

Even with that promise, Maka felt as if he was hiding something; like he was telling her that he'd be okay just so she would stop worrying.

"We should get ready for school," Maka muttered into his shirt, not pulling away.

"Okay," Soul squeezed her gently, "Don't worry. I'll be fine."

She nodded, backing away, and brushed past him into the hall, "Are you hungry?"

"Not really."

Maka began cooking a scrambled egg, her mind on the events at hand.

She didn't look up when Soul came in and sat at the table, slouching sleepily in the chair.

"Maka?"

"Hm?"

"Can I stay home? I really don't feel well," he rested his head on his folded arms.

Maka turned off the stove and came over to him, feeling his forehead, "You DO have a bad fever," she frowned, debating if he could afford to skip, "We have exams tomorrow though..."

He didn't look up, shivering slightly, "I can't make it to school. I really feel like shit right now."

"Okay," she bit her lip, "Will you be alright on your own?"

"I don't know," Soul muttered; his voice muffled from his position on the table. He tilted to glance an eye at her, "Can you stay with me?"

Maka started eating her eggs, "I really should go to class..."

He turned back and hid his eyes from view again.

"Here, I'll go half a day. Will that work? I can get all our work and be back by lunch," Maka suggested.

"That'll work," Soul slid out of the chair and shuffled to his room, "I'm going to sleep."

"Okay," she finished her food and washed the plate in the sink, "Rest up and I'll be back around 12 to make you lunch!" She called into the other room.

Before heading out the door with her school books, Maka leaned against Soul's door, "Feel better okay?

I'll be back soon," she hesitated, "Are you sure you'll be alright on your own?"

"Yeah. I'll be fine. Now go, or you'll be late for class," Soul's weary voice sounded through into the hall faintly.

"Bye," Maka mumbled sadly, heading out the door and locking it behind her.

**A/N: Hopefully this is still good. I'm really sorry it took so long to get up, I've been so busy.  
I need to go back and watch Soul Eater to get back into the zone for it again.  
Review please! I love hearing from you guys!**


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: Thank you for the all the wonderful reviews!**

**Sorry for taking forever, but with how this has been going: you can probably expect one chapter a weeks now... I write it during the week then edit and put it up here on weekend. So yeah, be patient with me please. :)**

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Soul Eater or its characters.**

* * *

Maka slowly made her way to first period, stopping by her locker beforehand.

BlackStar appeared beside her, Tsubaki following closely behind, "Hey Maka! Where's Soul?"

"At home. He isn't feeling well," Maka answered, taking a book from her locker and closing the metal door.

"Oh, I hope he feels better soon," Tsubaki frowned.

"Me too," Maka secured the lock and started down the hall, "I'm leaving at lunch to go take care of him after I gather all the work he's missing."

"I'm sure he'll love studying while he's sick," Tsubaki smiled sarcastically.

"I'll come by and make him feel better, okay!" BlackStar yelled in Maka's ear.

"I think you'll just make it worse and give him a headache," Maka groaned, shielding her eardrums from his obnoxious voice.

"Tell Soul to feel better," Tsubaki waved, "We need to get to class."

"Yeah, I will," Maka waved a hand over her shoulder, "Bye."

"See you later!"

Maka arrived in class as the bell was ringing. She spoke to Sid about Soul's absence and getting his work, before she found her seat.

"Hey Maka," Kid leaned forward to talk to her in the row in front of him, "Where's Soul?"

"Sick at home," she turned to him, "He didn't feel good when he woke up this morning so I let him stay in bed."

"Oh. He seemed alright last night," Kid brushed his bangs aside and Maka noticed he had cut the other side to even it out.

Liz joined in, "Is it that bug he had earlier this week?"

"I guess. He had a fever and didn't eat breakfast," Maka took out some paper for taking notes, "I'm still worried about him though."

Patti looked up from doodling giraffes on her folder, "Just make him some soup! That always helps me when I feel bad."

"He does need to eat _something_," Kid frowned, "Going days without food isn't going to help."

"QUIET IN THE BACK, PLEASE!" Sid yelled at the group chatting.

Maka swiftly turned forward and started taking notes.

First, second, and third period dragged on, and Maka was afraid she would never get home. She checked the clock every few minutes, expecting change. She knew she was worrying too much, but she couldn't help it.

Finally she walked into fourth period, explaining to Stein why Soul was absent. He frowned, asking if he needed to come by and check on him.

"No, I'm sure he'll be fine," Maka faked a smile, "You've already helped enough."

Stein narrowed his eyes but didn't reply.

Maka made her way to her seat and class started.

After the bell rung for dismissal, Maka quickly went by their remaining classes and gathered up any

work that needed to be done by tomorrow.

Marie gave her regards and also a packet of practice tests.

Maka bade her friends farewell and headed home, arms full of books and folders.

* * *

"I'm home," she called, watchful of her volume as to not wake him up if he was still asleep.

Maka set her books down and softly padded across the floor to Soul's room. She gingerly opened the door and peeked in.

"Hey," he mumbled, his back to her where he lay under the covers of his bed.

"Feeling any better?" She came over and sat on the edge of the bed, looking at him with concerned eyes.

"A bit, yeah," Soul glanced at her, "Bring me lots of work to do?" He grinned wearily.

"Yes, I did," she placed a hand on his forehead before she let it fall to her side, a frown on her face,

"Ms. Marie, Tsubaki, and the others hope you feel better soon."

"I feel popular," he fell into a coughing fit, taking a moment to catch his breath. Soul closed his eyes and took a deep breath, "Can I have something to eat?"

"Sure. What sounds good?" Maka stood, adjusting her shirt.

He shrugged, "Soup I guess."

She smiled and shook her head, "Alright. I'll start on that. If you feel up to it, you should come in the kitchen."

"I'll be there in a sec."

"Okay."

She left the room and began making chicken noodle soup. Soul eventually emerged from his room and went in the bathroom for a couple of minutes before stumbling into the kitchen. He sat heavily in a chair and laid his head on the table.

"Here you go," Maka set the steaming bowl of soup in front of him.

Soul lifted his head and stared at the bowl with a weary expression, "Thanks."

"Please eat at least a bit," Maka put a hand on his shoulder.

"I will."

She sat across from him and picked up a textbook from the counter, patiently waiting for him to finish.

Maka peeked up at him still looking into the depths of the broth. He set the spoon down and laid his head on the table, an arm across his stomach.

"Are you okay?" She asked, worried.

"...no," he mumbled. Soul quickly stood, knocking over his chair and stumbling to the bathroom.

"Soul!" Maka ran after him to find him coughing up blood in the sink.

Red coated the basin, the warm liquid clogging the drain. He turned the handle and washed it down, wiping a hand across his mouth, "I'm fine. It's alright."

He sounded tired, breathing heavily and leaning his weight against the counter.

"Come lay down on the couch," Maka insisted, leading him into the living room.

Soul collapsed onto the cushions and smashed his face in a pillow, closing his eyes with a sigh.

Maka came in with a wet rag and some medicine. She knelt beside the sofa, pressing the cold cloth to his forehead.

Suddenly the phone rang, causing Maka to jerk her head to the sound. She stood up and took it off it's holder on the wall.

"Hello?"

"Maka. It's professor Stein. How's Soul doing?"

Maka glanced over her weapon, "Soul is really sick and he doesn't seem to be getting better."

"What seems to be the issue?" Stein's voice became a bit concerned.

"He has a high fever, isn't eating... and he started coughing up blood."

"Maka, who is that?" Soul called weakly from the other side of the room, lolling his head to look at her.

"It's professor Stein," she covered the receiver and gave him a sad look.

"Tell him not to worry about it. The medicine he gave me is helping-" he started a coughing fit, specks of red splattering on his hand.

Maka turned back to the phone and spoke softy so Soul couldn't hear, "Professor, what's wrong with him? I'm really worried."

She heard him let out a sigh on the other end, "Give it a day. Keep him on the medications I gave him. If he's not better by then, I'll come over and check on him. I presume he won't make it for exams?"

"No. Not in this condition," she paused, "And I won't leave him like this..."

"I understand. Call me if it worsens, other than that, talk with you tomorrow," the other end of the line went quiet and Maka was about to hang up, "Just be there for him, Maka."

He hung up, leaving the girl staring at the white-haired boy on the couch. After hanging up the phone,

she went to his side and squeezed into the open space beside his head.

"Maka?"

"Yes?"

He adjusted himself so she could sit fully on the cushion and laid his head back on her lap, "I'm sorry."

"For what?" She absently started to comb her fingers through his hair.

"For all this," he closed his eyes.

"You couldn't control this."

He swallowed, "I guess."

Maka leaned her head back and continued to play with his hair. Soon she felt his breathing slow and he started snoring softly.

She gently lifted his head and replaced her lap with a pillow. Maka returned to the kitchen table and finished her schoolwork even though she was sure neither of them would be present for exams tomorrow.

Soul slept through dinner and Maka didn't wake him; letting him rest. She brought her pillow and some blankets into the living room and curled up in the armchair next to the couch.

Maka cast one more glance at Soul before she closed her eyes and fell into a troubled sleep.

**A/N: Like I've mentioned before; sorry for taking a while to update. I've been really busy and I'm not trying to punish you guys, okay? **

**Just a few more chapters! Thank you all for being here to encourage me. It really means a lot. This has boosted my self-esteem so much! **

**I have some other Fanfics in the works, but I also have some original stories that I need to get to. You can't become a famous author with FanFiction stories, unfortunately :P  
If I ever get any other stories out there, I'll inform you guys. **

**Again, Thanks. And be ready for an awesome ending to Before I Die. :D  
And by awesome; I mean terribly sad and depressing, haha, just kidding... maybe. **


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: Hm, I don't really have anything to say here. **

**Enjoy. Hope you like it. :)**

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Soul Eater or it's characters. **

* * *

Maka awoke to the sound of harsh coughing. She blinked her eyes open and worriedly looked at Soul.

He was sitting up on the couch leaned over and spitting dark liquid into his palm.

"Soul," she threw the blankets off her and ran over to him, kneeling by the couch. Maka grabbed a washcloth and wiped it along his mouth.

Soul breathed heavily, closing his eyes as he leaned back onto the pillows. He swallowed a gush of blood threatening to escape and sighed.

Maka stood to go rinse out the bloody cloth, but a hand held the back of her shirt weakly.

"No," Soul pleaded, his arm falling uselessly to the side of the couch," Stay with me please."

Maka looked at him, "Just let me go get another cloth."

"Just until I fall asleep?" Soul had never looked this bad. Even when he was sick, he found time to tease her.

She bit her lip, "Okay," Maka whispered, giving in, "...Why don't you want help?"

He smiled sadly, "Because I told you. I'm going to be fine."

Maka didn't look convinced, but she kept quiet, not wanting to argue with him in this current state. She sat beside the couch with her legs curled underneath her.

Soul moved his hand back onto his chest, breathing softly. They stayed in silence for a bit before Maka spoke up.

"Do I need to take you to the hospital?"

Soul shook his head, "No."

She nervously bit her lip, "I should call Professor Stein."

"No, it's fine," Soul gazed sideways at her now that she was at eye level.

Maka grabbed his hand, gently rubbing her thumb across it. She leaned her head down against his side, "Please, Soul," she whispered, "I'm worried about you. Please tell me what's wrong,"she sat back up, tears streaming down her face.

"Don't cry," Soul brought his free hand to wipe a thumb across her cheek,

"Please don't cry Maka. I hate it when you cry."

Maka rubbed a sleeve across her face, "I hate it when you hide things from me."

Soul's heart broke at that, he couldn't look at her anymore, "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. For everything."

Maka intertwined their fingers, snuggling her head into the gap between Soul's head and shoulder, and resting it on the couch.

"I forgive you," She said softly, not realizing the extent of her apology.

Soul smiled, his eyes closed. He gave her hand a slight squeeze, "Just don't cry. Stay strong for me."

Maka nodded into his neck.

* * *

She stayed there until she felt his breathing slow and he fell asleep.

Picking herself up off the ground, Maka went over to the phone and called professor Stein.

After a few rings, he answered, "How is he?"

"He's asleep right now, but he wasn't looking too good. He didn't want me to call, but can you come over?" Maka twirled the phone cord around her finger, twisting it into a knot like her stomach.

"I'll be there as soon as I can. I'm currently in the middle of an exam. Keep an eye on him, I'll be near my phone if anything happens."

The line went dead.

Maka frowned as she returned to Soul's side. She felt his forehead; It was way too hot. She brought over a cold cloth and set it on his skin, hoping to lower the temperature.

His breathing was shallow, barely whistling past his lips.

Maka's heart was beating fast, the knot in her stomach growing. She put a hand to his chest, faintly detecting a beat; slow and uneven.

"Soul, what is wrong with you?" She whispered nervously.

Maka didn't want to leave his side for a second, but she figured it was no good sitting there worrying. Standing up, she stretched out her limbs and grabbed a textbook and binder off the table. She sat down and worked for a bit, constantly glancing over at Soul.

Lunchtime rolled around, but she couldn't eat. She felt sick; that pit of concern was eroding a hole in her stomach.

Maka stood from the table and walked slowly over to the couch, kneeling beside it. She reached a hand to his forehead, but paused and moved her hand to hover over his mouth. No breaths of air brushed past her palm.

Heart racing, Maka pressed a hand to his chest, feeling for a heart beat.

Nothing.

"Soul!" She cried, feeling his neck for a pulse. "No..." She shook his shoulders,

"Soul, wake up! Don't leave me! Soul, a-ans-swer m-me," she trailed off.

Tears began streaming down her cheeks, welling up in her eyes and spilling over.

Maka shakily got to her feet, stumbling over to the phone.

He answered on the first ring, "Maka...?"

"...there's no pulse," she whispered. Her legs were trembling and she had to sit down.

"I'll be right there, alright? Stay calm and wait for me."

She nodded, not caring that he couldn't see.

Maka's lip was shaking and her stomach was beyond twisting. It was so tight that she could no longer feel it.

Tears blurred her vision, and she was grateful that she couldn't see. She couldn't bear to look at him. That lifeless body was frightening.

Part of her didn't believe it. He was just sleeping. Tomorrow he would be fine, and they would go to the park, then get ice cream.

BlackStar would be teasing him and they would race to the corner and back while Tsubaki stayed with her and smiled at their energy. It would be fine...

A loud knock jolted her from her wistful thinking.

Maka clambered to her wobbly feet and opened the door.

Stein strode in, straight to the couch, ignoring the girl at the door.

Ms. Marie followed through the doorway and closed the door behind her. She gingerly put an arm around Maka and when she fell into her embrace, Marie wrapped her in a giant hug.

Silent tears cascaded down Marie's cheeks at the sight of her student lying lifeless on the couch.

Stein nodded at Marie in affirmation that Soul was truly dead. Nothing could change that.

Maka clung to her teacher tighter, not bothering to wipe away the tears. Her lip was quivering, hindering any attempt at speech, so she stayed quiet.

Stein came and sat at the table, gesturing for Maka to join him. She slowly made her way across from him and lowered herself in a chair.

"He came to me about a month ago," Stein started.

Maka became attentive, wiping the back of her hand across her eyes.

"The black blood in his veins was threatening to take over and drive him mad.

He had already made a pact with the demon in his mind to stop the progressing of the madness; if he would give up his life in return."

"W-why would he do t-that?"

"He didn't want to go mad. He thought it better to die sane than go crazy. He didn't want to hurt any if you," he paused and pulled out a cigarette and put it, unlit, in his mouth, respecting their apartment, "So he asked me to help delay his death and ease it some. He didn't want anyone worrying about him.

Nothing could change the fact that he was going to die. He wanted to protect you."

"So... H-he knew he was dy-dying this whole t-time?" Maka fiddled with her pigtail, sniffling.

Stein nodded.

"Why..." Maka shook her head. Wanting answers that she would never find,

"Soul..."

Marie put a reassuring hand on the girl's shoulder while Stein called someone on the phone to come get the body.

Maka's head ached from crying and she just wanted to wake up from this nightmare.

Soon, two men in white coats came in the apartment and carried Soul's empty body out. Maka watched her partner's head bob up and down as they walked.

She stared at the lips that she would never see smile again; those red eyes that would never open, and she felt that his soul was gone. No life emanated from him any longer.

Life was such a fragile thing. One moment it's there, the next it's not.

**A/N: I haven't ever had someone close to me die, so this is a bit harder to write since I don't fully understand the emotion and feelings. Sorry if I messed it up.**

**Hopefully I made you cry, that was my objective, haha. :P**


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: Enjoy your sad and depressing next few minutes. Muhahaha.**

**Okay, I'm sorry, I apologize in advance for any tears. :P**

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Soul Eater or any of it's characters.**

* * *

A cool breeze fluttered past, scattering pink petals in the warm air. The quiet of the morning was comfortable, even the birds were silent.

"Maka," Spirit said softly, reaching a hand towards his daughter.

She fell into his arms and sobbed in his shirt, not bothering to wipe away the mascara that ran down her cheeks.

Tsubaki was sitting in the front row, silent tears streaming down her face and falling like dew onto the grass. BlackStar sat beside her, his bright pink hair almost mocking. He was surprisingly quiet, even his eyes were dull, the energy and excitement in them gone.

On the other side of Tsubaki sat Soul's parents and his brother, Wes. His mother was shedding tears but still sat straight, as though it mattered to be proper at her son's funeral. His father was looking everywhere except the coffin sitting up front, handing his wife a handkerchief. Wes sat up straight like his parents, his eyes trained on the black coffin in front of him. His mouth was a thin line and he had his hands folded in his lap, ankles crossed. He shifted nervously beside Tsubaki, a girl who knew his brother better than he did.

Kid was across the isle with Liz and Patti on his sides. Liz was crying into his shoulder while Patti silently rubbed her sister's back soothingly. Kid was solemn, and small beads of water gathered at the corners of his golden eyes, but he blinked them away.

Behind the row of friends and family in the front, the teachers and other death scythes filled the row behind them. Stein had an arm around a crying Marie, staring ahead with a blank expression. Sid and Nygus were beside them, quietly conversing with Justin and Azusa behind them.

Killik and the Twins were sitting behind the professors, along with Ox and Harver. Kim and Jaclyn sat behind the boys, contributing to the silence that hovered over the area.

Maka finally pulled away from her father, wiping the black lines off her cheeks with her hand and blinking back the remaining tears. Tsubaki joined her up front and wrapped a gentle arm around her shoulders.

"I'm so sorry," the black-haired weapon breathed, keeping her own tears in check.

"Why didn't he tell me?" Maka gasped out between a new round of sobs.

"There was nothing you could've done," Tsubaki brushed a loose strand of hair behind the girl's ear, "He didn't want you to worry about him since you couldn't do anything."

"He could've told me," Maka whispered, "I could've helped."

Tsubaki shook her head sadly, "What would you have done?"

"I-I could've been there f-for him more. And I wouldn't h-have argued wi-with him," she stuttered out, a steady flow of tears making her eyes red and puffy.

"He knew you cared a lot for him," Tsubaki led Maka to an empty seat beside Patti, "And I don't think he wanted to be treated differently."

"I should've known," Maka cried quietly, "I knew something was wrong. I asked. He just kept saying he was okay. Why didn't he tell me?" She repeated again. Her head was throbbing from all the crying and she didn't want to be there anymore.

Tsubaki held her hand, lightly squeezing to let her know she was there for her. It hurt for all of them, but Maka was hit the hardest. She lost a roommate, best friend, and a partner. She would have to find a new weapon soon if she was to continue at the DWMA, but how could she replace Soul? He was the one who understood her, who knew when she was hurting or in pain. He was the one who made her laugh when she was about to cry, who took care of her when she was sick, who drove her to the store late at night when they were out of milk. Sure they argued and fought. Soul even left her for a whole weekend before returning with a shameful expression and an apology. But they made up quick, they knew that their arguments were stupid and trivial.

Now she had lost the one thing that meant the most to her: a shoulder to cry on when she was upset, a head to chop when she was annoyed, a grin to cheer her up in the midst of battle, a warm hand to lead her through the dark, and a soul that matched with hers perfectly. It would be hard to move forward.

"It will go away; eventually," a voice spoke softly behind her.

"What will?" Maka wiped away a tear.

"The pain."

"But I don't want to forget."

"You won't. You'll keep the memories, and learn to smile instead of cry. The pain will dull but the memories will remain as reminders of them. The good and the bad," the unknown person pat her on the shoulder and walked off, leaving Maka alone with her thoughts.

* * *

After the ceremony, people slowly began to leave, thinning out the remaining crowd. Maka sat with Tsubaki, Liz, and Patti. Kid was quietly talking with BlackStar by the open coffin. Maka couldn't bring herself to go look. She wanted to go home and watch TV with Soul while he teased her about her chest and about her nagging like his mom. She wanted to come back from the store and find him playing video games on the couch.

"Maka," Liz took her hand and led her to the black coffin. Maka took a breath and looked down at the body inside.

His white hair matched the color of his paling skin, no red eyes to contrast his face. The mortician had him dressed in a black suit and red tie. So formal for a young death. He shouldn't be in that box. He should be alive and smiling.

Maka didn't stop the tears that fell, tightly clutching her own hands. Tsubaki stood next to her in silent comfort, staring down at their friend.  
Maka sniffed and wiped her eyes, smearing her makeup even more. Looking back on it, she shouldn't have applied mascara, she knew she would be crying.

She gazed one last time at her partner and gently touched a hand to his cold cheek, "Goodbye."

**A/N: Here's a tissue for your tears *hands you a box of Kleenex * **

**P.S. I'm really not sorry, haha. ;)**


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: Sorry this chapter is so short, but I think it's time to wrap this story up.**

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Soul Eater or it's characters.**

* * *

Maka reluctantly got off the couch and was headed to her room when she paused and looked to her right at the closed bedroom door.

It had been three days since the funeral and she still hadn't gone in his room.

Hesitantly, she turned the knob and walked in. His scent hit her like a wall. She breathed in the smell, cherishing the memories that came with it.

Laying against the desk was his guitar, along with his headphones hanging on the chair. The black and red walls enclosed the space, making it feel small, yet comfortable.

Maka stepped forward, her bare feet brushing against the carpet. She stood in front of his messily-made bed, stepping over a pillow on the ground.

Amongst the dirty clothes and old papers, a red journal caught her eye. Stuck between the pages was a sheet of notebook paper, folded in half. Maka gently unfolded it and read the letter slowly, tears welling up in her eyes:

Maka-

I'm sorry I didn't tell you. I didn't want you to worry. There was nothing you could've done and I didn't want to be treated any differently. You are an amazing meister and the coolest person I know. Thanks you for being there for me and for taking care of my lazy-ass. I couldn't have made it this far with anyone else.

Tell BlackStar that I hope he surpasses God one day; I know he can. And Tsubaki, I don't know how you put up with him, but I appreciate you doing so. Kid, you'll make a great Shinigami one day, even with your weird OCD. Liz, Patty; you take good care of Kid okay? I'd hate to see anything happen to that symmetrical head of his.

To the staff of the DWMA; thank you for running this amazing school and helping all of us. I really appreciate it. Professor Stein, thanks for all the help. Ms. Marie, you're an amazingly nice person, and I'm sure you'll get a great boyfriend soon. Sid and Nygus, you guys are awesome, keep being cool. Spirit... Chill out dude; seriously. Maka's almost an adult and you treat her like she's two. Lord Death, thank you.

And last but not least: My Maka,  
You are the one of the top meisters out there and you are an even better friend. I forgive you for breaking your promise of making me into a death-scythe. It would've been cool, but I had fun anyway.  
Maka, there was so much I wanted to tell you but I couldn't bring myself to say it. Now here I am cowardly writing a letter with my feelings.

You were the only one who fully understood me. You knew when I was really in pain and was holding back tears. You saw past my cool façade and reached out your hand to me. But I was always too worried about my reputation to accept your help. Just know I did appreciate it.

Maka, I love you. So so much. You were like family to me. I loved every moment together, even when I was being stubborn and not easy to deal with. Thanks for putting up with me.  
Please don't cry when I'm gone. I want you to stay strong and be that Maka that everyone else saw. The badass meister who never backed down and was never afraid.

Though, I'm glad I got to see your other side; the one with tears and heartbreak. I'm glad that I was able to comfort you when no one else could. But I don't want you to cry for me. I want you to keep moving forward. Don't forget me, just remember all the good times, and the bad, because those essentially were good whenever I was with you. You made me a better person. If I could go back in time, I wouldn't change a thing. Except maybe telling you how I felt in person and keeping all this from happening, but that would be selfish of me. I was a selfish bastard, I got jealous of other guys who talked to you even though I knew good and well that I was the one you came to at night with all your worries.

I love you Maka, remember that.

Stay strong.

-Soul

Maka sat down on his bed, curling into herself and laying on her side. She reread the words over and over, hearing them in his voice. Tears wet her cheeks and a dull headache formed.

"Sorry," she mumbled, wiping away the drops of water, "I promise not to cry anymore." Her eyes fluttered closed and she fell to sleep, snuggled in his covers and hugging a pillow to her chest.

**A/N: I hope you guys enjoyed Before I Die. Yes, it is now over.  
This was a great experience for me as a writer and I very much appreciate everyone's support and comments.  
Keep checking for any of my new stuff, and I will talk to you all in the future.  
Thanks again.  
Goodbye and The End. **

*****P.S. I may come back and edit this story, but not so much you have to reread it or anything; just fixing some small errors.  
But my point is that if you get notified that I updated or something (however that works)- you don't have to come back and read it. I promise you aren't missing out on anything. ***  
**


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